This thread is about Power8 cost cutting plan at Airbus.
Details of the Power8 plan will be official announced between mid-February and end-March.
PARIS, Jan 15, 2007 (AFP) – European aircraft maker Airbus plans to end production at a French factory for its A320 single-aisled jet and move operations to Germany, French newspapers reported Monday.
“There will be only one assembly line for single aisles,” Airbus chief executive Louis Gallois told trade union representatives, La Tribune daily paper said.
Manufacturing will take place uniquely in Hamburg, one of two existing sites, at the expense of a factory at Airbus headquarters in Toulouse, southern France, La Tribune and rival daily Le Figaro reported.
Airbus is to unveil a vast restructuring plan next month called Power 8, which is expected to include a simplification of the group’s manufacturing processes.
“Any hypothesis is premature,” an Airbus spokeswoman told AFP. “No decision has been taken. Louis Gallois will talk about the plan during February.”
The A320 family of small, single-aisled planes includes the A318, A319, A320 and A321 aircraft and is the main source of profit for Airbus, which has experienced production problems and delays to its flagship A380 superjumbo project.
The European group is working on an updated version of the A320 amid a bitter fight for orders with arch-rival Boeing and plans to make the new aircraft available from 2015.
Trade union sources in Toulouse were sceptical about the press reports.
“We are talking about uncertainties, about things that will happen in five or six years,” said Xavier Petrachi, a member of the CGT union.
So, A320 (and later A320E) will be manufactured in Hamburg (and later in China). The A380 will be then fully completed and delivered in Toulouse.
Airbus should have made this decision a few years ago!
By: fightingirish - 28th February 2007 at 18:24
Does this mean A320 family Wing production is moving from Broughton?
I meant final assembly. Parts like wings and fuselage sections will stay at their production places.
Edit:
Airbus Press Release
By: F4MPHIXER - 28th February 2007 at 17:16
Does this mean A320 family Wing production is moving from Broughton?
By: fightingirish - 28th February 2007 at 13:15
Power 8 press conference
Airbus will hold a press conference today at 2.00PM GMT, the press conference will be shown on line at www.airbus.com
The press conference will cover Power 8.
France: 3200
Germany: 3700
UK: 1600
Spain: 400
Central station (TLS HQ) 1100
Achieved by 2010.
Half of this are temporary contracts with external insitutional collaborators (i.e. auditors and advisors) who will be discontinued and half are permanent employees. Of these, NOBODY will be fired and the numbers will be achieved through putting some plants in joint ventures (effectively meaning also reducing the Airbus workforce), early retirement of elderly staff and natural outflow.
Airbus will move the entire A320 production and operations center to Germany. The A320E and its successor supposed to be build in Germany.
The A350 production and operations center will be in Toulouse!
Mods, please delete “: A320” in the thread title!
By: bring_it_on - 16th January 2007 at 06:30
Hmmmm I thought that the A320E was supposed to be available by 2009 and airbus would somewhere down the line pursue a clean sheet design for the A320RS ?? Getting the A320E up and ready with certain refinments will be a great tactic to generate cash flow to fund programs such as the A350Xcf and to get out of the financial charges that will come will 2010 or so for the A380 . Even if the resultant aircraft is 2-4% more effecient it is still enough to up production and rack the orders up . I think that no matter what boeing or airbus do(other then a clean sheet design)the 737 and A320 will keep on selling well based on strong demand , huge backlogs and the main selling points would be availability and price so the manufacterer that ups the production and takes in more orders will reap the rewards!!
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January 15, 2007 at 5:47 pm