Friday, November 28, 2008

Airbus savings: Employees negotiate successfully

Airbus' works council and IG Metall evaluate the agreement on the divestment of the Airbus plant in Varel, Nordenham and Augsburg as a resounding success for the workers. Even the impact of the austerity program "Power8" on the staff were able, thanks to decisive resistance mitigated, said Jutta Blankau, district head of IG Metall coast, with the presentation of the agreement in Hamburg.

With the outsourcing of works in a subsidiary instead of a sale, the aviation group's proposals, which the union already in the summer of 2007 had made, said Blankau. Particularly important was the fact that a location and guarantee the security of jobs could be achieved.

For the premium Aerotec GmbH, in which the three works together, has been with Airbus Germany is a dismissal for the 6000 staff until 2013, agreed - but there is an exit clause for the event, which is the economic environment deteriorated significantly. The company goes on 1 January 2009 at the start and then is the second largest supplier to the aviation world. At least until the end of 2011, the company majority-owned Airbus will remain a minority shareholding of an investor, however possible. "After a long period of uncertainty, there is finally clarity," said Blankau.

Premium Aerotec gets from the Airbus parent group EADS 500 million euros to the works of future. By the end of the year 2011 alone, 350 million euros in production for the new A350 long-haul aircraft made, as Airbus announced. Further around 150 million euros were for the production of other civilian Airbus series planned. "We have good prospects for the future," said Ruediger Luetjen, chairman of the Airbus Group Works. It was succeeded attacks on collective ownership and social statuses and fend off major work packages and investment in new technologies to agree.

The councils have agreed with Airbus that the workforce a contribution of 22.5 million euros to the companies provide savings goals. Will be achieved through increased productivity and efficiency. Thus, the time set for each production steps by three percent. "The employees know the locations and know exactly how to create," said Juergen Bruns, council chairman in Varel. Overtime or salary losses were not foreseen. "We have a very innovative agreement," said Airbus CEO Thomas Enders the agreement. The agreement was a workers' contribution, at least for Airbus in Germany again. He expressed the hope that this example school do.

In return, the workers at the success of the new company involved. In the case of a sale or IPO of the company are the employees with four percent of the potential profit from such a transaction involved.

In the framework of "Power8" planned job cuts at Airbus are loud Luetjen in the plan. 540 strain still work places should be dismantled by 2010. The withdrawal of a total of 3,500 employees had provided the Executive Board, of which 60 percent of temporary workers. Through the divestment of the three works and - for the larger part - and savings for the suppliers to Airbus by 2011 be capable of annually 2.1 billion euros to save costs. A new edition of the austerity program now before the budget by a further 300 million euros annually to reduce by parts of the production will be shifted abroad.

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