ArianeGroup plans to cut 600 jobs by 2022

According to the unions, the 600 departure was for France and Germany.

The manufacturer of Ariane rockets is preparing to cut 600 jobs in France and Germany by the end of 2022, especially as we learn from management and unions to face competition from American SpaceX.

“We have actually announced plans to hire a maximum of 600 people, involving France and Germany,” Florence Colois, the company’s human resources director, told AFP.

It is not planned to close the site, but the company is interested in “all departments and sites”, whether in Germany or France, he added.

“All workstations are affected, except the factory area.” Planned job cuts can actually affect “organization-related functions”, such as project management or support functions, according to Ms. Colois.

Do not close the site

“If we know that there are 350 natural disasters in France each year, we need to add 150 to 200 people, including the company’s maintenance staff,” estimated Philip Kerry, federal union representative CFE-CGC.

Published by Weekly Magazine ChallengesThe project aims to restore competitiveness in the face of stiff competition from American SpaceX and its reusable missiles and reduce the cost of Ariane rocket manufacturers.

The joint venture between Saffron and Airbus is developing the Ariane 6 heavy launcher, whose initial release has been postponed to the second quarter of 2022 due to technical problems exacerbated by the effects of the health crisis.

Management says it will work with two partner groups to review solutions for re-hiring employees for Saffron and Airbus. “We’re not talking about a community project,” Florence Colois said.

The release opportunities of Ariane 6 were related to the need for seven views per year, which was 30% less than when the 2014 project was launched, forcing the company to reduce its costs.

Economic reliability of Ariane 6

The European Space Agency (ESA), a Franco-German agreement concluded in July, is a major contributor to both countries, providing an additional 140 140 million a year to ensure the economic credibility of Ariane 6.

The Franco-German agreement included the transfer of Vince’s production re-ignition machine from the Eure to the Arianegroup base in Otobran, Germany.

The exchange represents “40,000 hours of annual work”. Kerry says, or about 40 jobs at Vernon, according to management.

“The worm was in the fruit, but it was a blow,” the union official admitted, adding that “it would weaken French control over projection technology”.

The relocation will take several months and is not part of the work cut plan, which should be in place by the end of 2022, Florence Colois stressed.

severe hurt

But Philip Kerry says he is afraid he will call others. Like the Prometheus engine, it advanced the European strategy of staying in space racing in the face of international competition. Low cost, versatile and reusable, this futuristic machine, 70% made in 3D printing, is being developed at Vernon.

Vinci’s exchange “could sign the end of the Vernon plant in the long run,” said Philip Carey. The latter used 952 permanent contracts at the end of December 2020.

“Nothing has led us to believe that the plan of 2,500 employees is no longer applicable by 2025,” replied CNT union representative Benoit TuclaRondo, although management refused to plan beyond 2022. “For us, this plan is not fair,” he added.

The Arian Group employs 7,600 people and has a revenue of $ 2.5 billion by 2020.