Airbus exceeded its 2007 objective to save €2.5 billion ($3.7 billion) through its Power8 consolidation programme, which involved cutting around 8,000 jobs, and plans to save a further €1 billion in a follow-up programme by the end of 2014.
The airframer saved €2.9 billion over the past four years since launching the Power8 restructuring programme in 2007, says deputy head of media relations Jacques Rocca.
Better integration of the company and avoiding responsibility overlaps between the different sites and suppliers was the main strategy. Airbus was "not 100% integrated" at the time, says Rocca.
This involved cutting 7,900 jobs in supporting roles in, for example, procurement, legal matters, human resources or communications. The original plan was to slash 10,000 of these jobs, split equally between internal and external positions.
Airbus made 4,900 internal jobs redundant. However, the manufacturer increased the number of manufacturing and engineering staff, according to Rocca. While Airbus' total headcount was 54,000 in 2007, this number now stands at 52,500. The objective was to make cost savings without jeopardising the A400M and A350 programmes, he says.
Procurement was one area where the company cut costs by €500 million through reducing the number of direct suppliers from 3,000 to 500. Further savings have been achieved through lean manufacturing and engineering initiatives.
Rocca declines to comment on whether the two EADS aerostructure subsidiaries, Aerolia and Premium Aerotec, will be sold in the future. The six former Airbus production sites in France and Germany were spun out of the company and established as wholly EADS-owned, but independently acting component suppliers in 2009 after they could not be sold as originally planned as part of the Power8 programme.
Airbus wants to continue improving its efficiency and save another €1 billion through its Power8 Plus follow-up programme by the end of 2014. This is to be achieved through more lean manufacturing initiatives. Further jobs cuts are not planned, says Rocca.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
