Airbus backs down on return-to-office after protests, sources say

By Tim Hepher

PARIS, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Airbus has watered down a drive to reduce remote working after protests from unions including a series of strikes in its Spanish facilities, people familiar with the matter said.

Many Spanish workers have been staging on-off strikes since July, and there have been sporadic protests in France over plans by Airbus to force white-collar staff to work on-site four days a week by September, rather than the current three.

Now, managers have been told they can allow staff to maintain existing arrangements that allow them to work at home an average of two days a week, effectively suspending the bid to introduce a mandatory limit of one day, the people said.

"Our objective remains the same: we aim for increased on-site presence to ensure better collective efficiency, knowledge transfer and faster decision-making," an Airbus spokesperson said.

"However, effective change requires listening to our people. Based on employee feedback, we have decided to implement this transition more gradually."

Shares in Airbus dipped 0.4% in a slightly firmer market.

SHARING SKILLS 

The retreat on office-working deals a blow to a high-profile campaign led by CEO Guillaume Faury to draw staff back to the office as the industry seeks to meet record demand and prepare new products with thousands of relatively new staff.

Faury told staff in June that home-working had been a lifeline during the COVID-19 pandemic when the priority was minimising contact — but that now the opposite was the case as Airbus sought to ensure skills were shared in person.

"I count on all of you to support this," he said in the June memo, first reported by Bloomberg.

Tens of thousands of people have left the aerospace industry since COVID-19 and between 25% and one third of Airbus's staff have joined the company in the past three years, according to French unions.

In Spain, approximately 40% of Airbus's 14,000 workers have taken part in strikes over issues including teleworking, transport, holidays and salary, according to unions. 

Production has not so far been affected by disruption to white-collar ancillary functions.

INTENSITY OF PROTESTS 'RATTLES' LEADERSHIP

Three Spanish unions have called for a three-hour stoppage on Monday to vote on a longer walkout. 

Edmundo Otero, UGT General Secretary at Airbus, told Reuters he saw "elements that give us reason for cautious optimism" on topics such as inflation-adjusted pay, but called for greater clarity.  

Strikes at the group are rare but insiders say the intensity of the Spanish unrest has rattled Airbus leadership, prompting questions from the top on how it has been handled locally.

Human resources officials have pleaded with staff to "play together".

The fallout comes as aerospace and other sectors are struggling to attract young "Gen-Z" employees — reported to put a higher priority on work-life balance than the traditional corporate career ladder, according to recent Deloitte surveys.

Flexible working supports recruitment in an industry feeling increased competition from higher-paid "digital nomad" sectors such as AI, delegates said at last month's Farnborough Airshow.

The dispute has also brought to a head longstanding resentment inside Airbus's Spanish unit over its position inside Europe's largest aerospace group. Airbus this year appointed a Spanish chairperson for the first time since formally ending a system of Franco-German power-sharing more than a decade ago. 

(Additional reporting by David Latona; Editing by David Holmes)