Airbus to Furlough 3,000 French Staff as U.K. Resumes Work

Airbus SE will furlough around 3,000 staff across three French sites just as employees at its U.K. wing plants prepare to return to work following extended Easter shutdowns tied to the coronavirus outbreak.

The staff at commercial aircraft sites in Toulouse, Nantes and Saint-Nazaire will be on leave from Monday until mid-May following an accord with unions, a spokesman said. The measure will affect people whose workstations can’t meet social-distancing requirements, and could be extended depending on how production plans evolve following a decision to slash jet output by a third.

Airbus confirmed earlier Friday that employees in Broughton, Wales, and Filton, England, will resume work next Monday after a 3 1/2-week break.

The announcements show how planemakers are having to juggle factory stops and starts as they recalibrate in the face of safety concerns and plummeting demand. Boeing Co. plans to restart output in Seattle next week following a shutdown that began last month, while Airbus has had to extend a closure in Canada in line with government restrictions there.

Guillaume Faury, the European company’s chief executive officer, told Bloomberg Television on Thursday that it faces tough decisions ahead on permanent job cuts.

He said Airbus would seek to take advantage of national furlough programs first, including those in Germany and Britain, but may need to contemplate further steps depending on how the situation unfolds.