“Airbus is the jewel in the crown of European aviation. This enterprise is the symbol of Europe’s capacity to construct itself. It is unacceptable for it to be undergoing such social collapse at this time, and for the workers to be once again paying the price, with 10,000 jobs due to be axed,” declared ETUC General Secretary John Monks.

“The workers cannot continue always to bear the brunt of management’s mistakes. From the outset, this was a European cooperation project, and it must not be transformed into a conflict pitting workers in different countries against one another. Airbus also raises the problem of the accountability and openness of the leaders of an enterprise which hitherto has been a model in this context, and who failed to anticipate the problems. This is equally a responsibility for Member States.”