PARIS: Airbus announced plans Wednesday to cut up to 2,500 jobs in its struggling space and defense division, in the latest sign of trouble for the European aerospace industry. The division, which employs 35,000 people, has been struggling as demand for satellites has fallen and as a consequence Airbus said it was necessary to adapt its organization and workforce.

“It is expected that these measures will result in a reduction of up to 2,500 positions within Airbus Defense and Space until mid 2026,” the company said in a statement. The firm said it would engage in discussions with trade unions about the changes and indicated it would like to avoid forced departures. “Compulsory actions are not planned, Airbus will work with its social partners to limit the impact by relying on all available social measures,” it said.

Airbus’ net profit fell by 46 percent to 825 million euros in the first half of the year, dragged down by a 989-million euro writedown in its space business. The company had already taken a 600-million euro charge in 2023 in the same division.

“In recent years, the defense and space sector and, thus, our Division have been impacted by a fast changing and very challenging business context,” Airbus Defence and Space CEO Mike Schoellhorn said in a statement. He said the challenges include “disrupted supply chains, rapid changes in warfare and increasing cost pressure due to budgetary constraints”.

The European company is the world leader for telecommunications satellites but is facing a drop in demand that has also affected other players in the industry. France’s Thales earlier this year re-assigned some 1,300 positions in its space division. Telecommunication and navigation satellites are all made to order, eliminating the possibility of benefitting from economies of scale, unlike in Airbus’s flagship commercial aircraft business. The division is also facing greater competition from SpaceX and its Starlink constellation of low-orbit satellites. — AFP