At the annual conference of the results of the Airbus group on February 27th in Munich, everyone was waiting for the latest A400M news. As we said a month ago, the European military transport aircraft is still experiencing serious delays in deliveries and malfunctions of its military equipment such as in-flight refuelling.
The Airbus group estimates the cost of delays at 551 million euros for last year.
Although the new delivery schedule is still under discussion with the manufacturer’s customers, the group nonetheless announced a doubling of production in 2015.
Tom Enders – Chief Executive Officer - Airbus Group: « We delivered eight aircraft last year, we transferred the title of eight aircraft. I would think doubling the deliveries of the A400M from 2014 to 2015, in the current situation, with the current challenges, would be a good target. »
The increase in production is the aim expressed by Airbus, as much for the A400M as its civil aviation best-sellers. To cope with demand, production should reach 50 A320’s per month in 2017, as against the present 42.
The group also announced record results in 2014 with a turnover of more than € 60 billion, up 5% compared to 2013. The lower military branch results were offset by the success of commercial aircraft sales, and the sale of part of its stake in Dassault last November which brought in nearly € 400 million.
It is Airbus that is the mainstay of the group, with sales up by more than 42 billion euros in 2014. The helicopter division recorded an increase of 4% for the year, with a decline of one percent for the defense and space industry.
However, in 2015, Airbus will probably not be recruiting any personnel more than in 2014.
Thierry Baril - Chief Human Resources Officer - Airbus Group: "We are now in a phase of stabilization of our workforce. At the same time, we are restructuring and implementing a number of changes in the group. What we are focusing on, is mostly internal skills mobility, so that we can better maintain the skills which we have built up over the years. »
The Airbus group has more than 144,000 employees worldwide, an increase of 60% in the workforce over the last fifteen years.
