Restructuring at Airbus puts over 1,000 jobs at risk: Unions

Company looks to reduce bureaucracy, simplify its brand

TOULOUSE, France (Reuters) — Restructuring plans at planemaker Airbus could result in at least 1,000 job cuts, French union officials said on Wednesday.

The figure includes 780 job cuts, reported earlier by Les Echos, which will be spread between technical research, IT, strategy and legal services, according to Jean-Marc Escourrou, secretary of the Airbus branch of Force Ouvriere union.

Airbus Group in September announced it would merge with its main planemaking unit, in a move aimed at reducing bureaucracy and simplifying its brand.

Details of "Project Gemini" are due to be presented to employees in Toulouse on Nov. 29, union officials said.

A European works council meeting scheduled for Dec. 1 will discuss cutbacks in other services such as human resources, finance and purchasing.

"We should exceed 1,000 job reductions," Escourrou said.

Airbus declined to comment.

Airbus Helicopters announced separately last month that it would carry out voluntary redundancies covering 582 posts in France between 2017 and 2018 due to a market slowdown. 

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