Airbus retreats on return-to-office push after staff protests

PARIS: Airbus has softened its stance on enforcing a return-to-office policy after facing protests from unions, including strikes in its Spanish facilities, according to people familiar with the matter. The European aerospace giant had initially planned to force white-collar staff to work on-site four days a week by September, down from the current three.

Spanish employees have been staging intermittent strikes since July and have also staged protests in France and Britain over the proposed work-from-home policy changes. Now, managers are free to allow employees to maintain existing arrangements that permit working at home an average of two days per week, effectively suspending the mandatory limit of one day, the sources said.

Airbus maintains that its aim remains the same: to increase on-site presence to enhance collective efficiency, knowledge transfer, and faster decision-making. However, effective change necessitates listening to employees, and the company has decided to implement the transition more gradually based on employee feedback. The retreat on office-working policies represents a setback for CEO Guillaume Faury's high-profile campaign to draw staff back to the office, as the aerospace industry faces record demand and seeks to equip new employees with essential skills in person.

Faury had emphasized in a June memo to staff that while remote work provided a lifeline during the COVID-19 pandemic, it was no longer sufficient as the industry strives to share expertise in person. Despite the company's efforts, tens of thousands of people have left the aerospace industry since COVID-19, with between 25% and one-third of Airbus's staff joining in the past three years, as reported by French unions.

In Spain, about 40% of the 14,000 Airbus workers have participated in strikes related to teleworking, transport, paid leave, and salary, according to unions. Production has not been affected by the white-collar staff disruptions so far. Three Spanish unions have called for a three-hour stoppage on Monday to vote on a longer walkout, but they were not available for comment.

Airbus is not the only multinational corporation grappling with employees' reluctance to return to the office more frequently. The Spanish unrest has reportedly shaken Airbus leadership, leading to questions from top management regarding its handling at the local level. Human resources officials have urged staff to "play together."

The dispute highlights the longstanding resentment inside Airbus's Spanish unit over its position within Europe's largest aerospace group, which underwent a transition away from Franco-German power-sharing more than a decade ago.