On the heels of posting a 17-percent decline in earnings this fall, Airbus Helicopters has announced a plan to trim its workforce by 582. The cuts will come mainly at Marignane, France, where it employs nearly 9,000, and would be implemented through voluntary departures and attrition over the next two years. Worldwide, Airbus Helicopters employs 23,000 people. Along with others in the industry, the Airbus Group division has suffered pain stemming from the global energy slump. For the third quarter, revenue was off 3 percent while earnings slid $219 million from the year-ago period.
The revenue slide was fueled by waning demand for super-medium and heavy helicopters, as well as an overall drop in commercial hours flown. Airbus Helicopters has also been hurt by the worldwide grounding of the heavy H225 models in June following a fatal April 29 North Sea crash. While the EASA lifted that grounding in October, it remains in force in the UK and Norway. In financial reports, Airbus Helicopters hinted that the results could have been worse if not for the continued strong demand for the H135 and H145 twins—demand that prompted shifting workers from plants in France to Germany where those two helicopters are produced—as well as implementation of continuing“transformation measures and efforts to adapt to market challenges.”
One of those adaptations could be a delay in the company's marquis 13,000-pound-class H160 medium-twin program. Projected initial deliveries of that aircraft have slipped to 2019 from 2018, with a third prototype scheduled to join the program early next year.
On the heels of posting a 17-percent decline in earnings this past fall, Airbus Helicopters has announced a plan to trim its workforce by 582. The cuts will come mainly at Marignane, France, where it employs 9,000, and would be implemented through voluntary departures and attrition over the next two years. Worldwide, Airbus Helicopters employs 23,000 people. Along with others in the industry, the Airbus Group division has suffered pain stemming from the global energy slump. For the third quarter, revenue was off 3 percent while earnings slid $219 million from the year-ago period.
The revenue slide was fueled by waning demand for super-medium and heavy helicopters, as well as an overall drop in commercial hours flown. Airbus Helicopters has also been hurt by the worldwide grounding of the heavy H225 models in June following a fatal April 29 North Sea crash. While the EASA lifted that grounding in October, at press time it remains in force in the UK and Norway. In financial reports, Airbus Helicopters hinted that the results could have been worse if not for the continued strong demand for the H135 and H145 twins—demand that prompted shifting workers from plants in France to Germany where those two helicopters are produced—as well as implementation of continuing“transformation measures and efforts to adapt to market challenges.”
One of those adaptations could be a delay in the company's 13,000-pound-class H160 medium-twin program. Projected initial deliveries of that aircraft have slipped to 2019 from 2018, with a third prototype scheduled to join the program early this year.