Airbus’s defence unit is to reduce its headcount by up to 2,500 personnel, with the cuts driven by what it describes as a “continued complex business environment”.
Detailed by Airbus Defence & Space on 16 October, the step is intended to transform it to become “faster, leaner and more competitive”, says chief executive Michael Schoellhorn.
The company singles out the operational performance of its Space Systems arm as influencing the development, citing “significant financial charges recorded in 2023 and 2024”.
“In recent years, the defence and space sector and, thus, our division have been impacted by a fast changing and very challenging business context with disrupted supply chains, rapid changes in warfare and increasing cost pressure due to budgetary constraints,” Schoellhorn says.
“While transformation efforts initiated in 2023 have started bearing fruit, particularly on operational performance and risk management, we are now taking the next steps. We want to shape the division so it can act as a leading and competitive player in this ever-evolving market,” he adds.
“It is clear that we must adapt if we want to champion our industry and lead Europe’s ecosystem of defence aerospace.”
The company’s expected cut to staffing should be complete by mid-2026, it says, while noting that “compulsory [redundancy] actions are not planned”. The defence unit’s activities are also organised under Air Power, and Connected Intelligence segments.
“Intended measures will include creating a more effective and efficient organisational structure, especially with regard to headquartered functions, as well as a full operative end-to-end accountability for its business lines,” it says.
Airbus’s half-year results for 2024, published on 30 July, show its defence division as recording a revenue of €4.98 billion ($5.4 billion), with an adjusted EBIT of -€807 million. Its net order intake during the six-month period totalled just over €6 billion.
