The boss of Airbus has warned that it is “bleeding cash” at such a rapid rate during the coronavirus lockdowns that its survival is in doubt.
In a starkly worded leaked letter to the European planemaker’s 135,000 staff, chief executive Guillaume Faury that they needed to be prepared for deep job cuts after it slashed production by a third.
It revealed that all options were being considered to make sure that one of the world’s two major commercial aviation manufacturers can stay solvent.
Mr Faury said the Toulouse-based business, which employs 13,500 people in Britain at sites in north Wales and Bristol, was “bleeding cash at an unprecedented speed”.
It has already taken advantage of furlough schemes for around 3,000 workers in France and lined up more support from banks. However Mr Faury warned that the group “may now need to plan for more far-reaching measures”, adding that “the survival of Airbus is in question if we don’t act now.”
He went on: “In just a couple of weeks we have lost roughly one-third of our business. And, frankly, that’s not even the worst-case scenario we could face.”
The company usually produces more than 60 of its most recent Airbus A320 model each month, but is cutting that to 40. It will also reduce production of its larger A330 planes to two and A350s to six.
Airbus is expected to reveal more details of its survival plan on Wednesday when it unveils its financial results for the first quarter of the year.
A spokesman for Airbus said the company would not comment on the letter.
