Airbus unions stage rare strikes over office attendance increase

By Gianluca Lo Nostro

June 25 (Reuters) - French unions called one-day stoppages and protests at Airbus on Thursday as the European planemaker moves to raise the number of on-site working days for white-collar staff to at least four a week from at least three.

The action, rare at Airbus, follows a June 9 letter to staff from CEO Guillaume Faury in which he called for improved focus, quality and "individual presence on-site" after a slow start to the year in commercial aircraft deliveries. Airbus is under pressure to meet its annual delivery target of 870 jets while grappling with supply-chain strains, notably engine shortages.

The CGT union called on employees to gather at Airbus' Blagnac site near Toulouse and "voice their anger under CEO Guillaume Faury's windows".

The CGT told Reuters more than 100 staff rallied there, without disclosing the strike's full turnout. There were no reports of any impact on production.

Separately, the CFDT union called for a rally outside the same building on June 30 and said it was studying possible legal action, arguing Airbus was applying its 2024 remote-working agreement in bad faith.

FO, Airbus France's largest union, called for any changes to be paused pending a July 7 Airbus European works council meeting and said management had reassured it that the hybrid working agreement remained valid through 2028.

Faury's letter was first reported by Bloomberg and has been seen by Reuters.

Airbus, which has its main operations in France, Germany, Spain and Britain, told Reuters it faced an unprecedented production ramp-up while navigating a volatile geopolitical and economic environment.

A spokesperson confirmed the new group-wide hybrid work policy and said flexibility remained part of Airbus' culture, but its priority was to ensure the closest possible collaboration between employees.

The policy applies to white-collar roles such as engineers. Not all assembly workers and technicians have been eligible for hybrid working.

Following Thursday's action, a CGT representative said the union had requested an official meeting with Faury next week.

(Reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro. Additional reporting by Tim Hepher. Editing by Mark Potter and Matt Scuffham)