Having announced back in February 2019 that the Superjumbo – the double-decker A380 and largest commercial airliner – would cease production in 2021, Airbus is now faced with having to merge operations of two production plants in Spain as there will now be insufficient work for them both.
On March 17, 2021 the final Airbus A380 (manufacturing serial number 272) made its maiden flight from Toulouse to Hamburg for cabin outfitting. The intention is to avoid forced layoffs and the plant in question has yet to be agreed upon, though workers in Spain have already held protests over the potential closure of the Puerto Real plant which assembled the horizontal stabilizers for the A380. There are a potential 460 jobs currently at stake and Airbus intends to reintroduce a voluntary severance plan which it had previously utilized after announcing 15,000 job cuts last year.
Airbus has also been holding discussions with unions over last month’s announcement to overhaul parts production. A plan to hive off a German unit specialized in detail parts has been opposed by unions, and Airbus said in a statement that while it continues to favor a separate entity with an external partner, it will also consider ideas from unions on how to keep the unit within Airbus.
