Unite: Airbus warning is wake-up call
The Unite union has said reports that Airbus has warned it is ‘bleeding cash’ during the Covid-19 pandemic are a ‘wake-up call’ for the UK Government.
Unite national officer for aerospace Rhys McCarthy said: "It is no surprise that Airbus and the wider aerospace industry are facing serious challenges as airlines are grounded around the world due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
"The UK is a world leader in aerospace, building state of the art aircraft, wings and engines with a turnover of £36 billion a year and directly employing 110,000 people in high value, highly skilled jobs.
"The announcement by Airbus chief executive Guillaume Faury must serve as a wake-up call to the UK government as well as governments throughout Europe and globally that airlines are going to need state support for their survival and recovery.
"Government support will not just protect the workers directly employed in the aerospace industry but also the 100,000 plus workers in the UK who are employed in the industry’s supply chain.
"Government support to the aviation industry must include strict conditions that include the retention of current orders and the mothballing of older planes for newer more efficient and environmental friendly aircraft and engines.
"The UK government must realise the interconnectivity of aviation and aerospace industries and that you don’t have one without the other.
"A do nothing approach will not only threaten tens of thousands of jobs, but make an economic recovery that more difficult and will result in UK forfeiting its leading role in aerospace."
Lisa
Lisa joined Travel Weekly nearly 25 years ago as technology reporter and then sailed around the world for a couple of years as cruise correspondent, before becoming deputy editor. Now freelance, Lisa writes for various print and web publications, edits Corporate Traveller’s client magazine, Gateway, and works on the acclaimed Remembering Wildlife series of photography books, which raise awareness of nature’s most at-risk species and helps to fund their protection.
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