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In a plot twist that even a soap opera writer would raise an eyebrow at, Airbus has announced it will be bidding adieu to about 2,500 employees from its defense and space division. Why? Well, the complex business environment (read: “we don’t want to deal with the fallout of our own bad decisions”) has been likened to a high-stakes game of Jenga, where every block pulled adds chaos to an already shaky structure. The reasons for these cuts include rising costs and what they’ve dubbed the “rapid changes in warfare.” It seems they’ve caught a glimpse of the future and decided that a leaner team might fare better in this Transformers-style world of modern conflict.
Airbus, the charming European aerospace giant in perpetual competition with its beleaguered ex-sweetheart Boeing, stated they expect to wrap up these job cuts by mid-2026—because who doesn’t love a suspenseful waiting game? Although they deftly avoided mentioning which countries would be experiencing this corporate ‘spring cleaning’, it’s safe to assume there are a few HR officers scrambling to create ‘excellent’ laying-off strategies with cardboard boxes at the ready.
Mike Schoellhorn, the Chief Executive of Airbus Defence and Space (which sounds far more formidable than it likely is), grimly noted that they’ve been navigating “a fast-changing and very challenging business context” that includes supply chain issues and the stray cat that always seems to zap your WiFi—oh wait, no, that’s just budgetary constraints. Does anyone else want to see a report on how fast cats can disrupt corporate communications?
Schoellhorn also reassured anyone still clinging to hope that these cuts are part of a grander plan to make the unit “faster, leaner, and more competitive.” Translation? It’s corporate-speak for “we’re trying to look snazzy while cutting costs, folks!” We can only imagine it’ll involve a fiery corporate makeover—maybe complete with motivational posters of kittens in fighter jets.
This revelation of downsizing comes ironically as the global defense and space industry seems to be in a veritable whirlwind of chaos, with opportunities and threats bashing against each other like waves in a storm. Isn’t it nice when the industry is both your lifeboat and your anchor at the same time?
Governments, meanwhile, have been throwing money at defense like it’s confetti since the coming-out party of geopolitical turmoil (hello, Ukraine). Meanwhile, the U.S. is all about investing in space-based assets—because what’s cooler than making money in the stratosphere? Except for all those new companies sprouting up faster than you can say “space race.” These fresh-faced alternatives are essentially gatecrashers at the traditional suppliers’ ball.
But wait, there’s more! The job cuts at Airbus aren’t just a single rain cloud in the vast horizon of the aviation industry; we’re practically looking at a gathering storm. With too much drama between Airbus and Boeing—who both prefer to wear the crown of full-sized commercial jet production—Boeing has had its fair share of issues, announcing it will be cutting 10% of its workforce. Seems like a tragic game of musical chairs, doesn’t it?
Boeing’s defense arm, meanwhile, is wallowing in a pool of $913 million losses, as though it’s some sort of mid-life crisis. And just like any good ugly situation, the head honcho of their defense unit decided to invoke the ‘always a good time for a fresh start’ cliché and stepped down. If only there was a corporate equivalent of a spa retreat to fix these woes!
Now, with Boeing accumulating more than $33 billion in core operating losses since 2019 while simultaneously dodging inquiries from regulators (a dangerous game of hide and seek), the plane manufacturer is getting a taste of what it feels like when your financial house is built on sand. Add to that the fact that a cool 33,000 of their workers are currently on strike, possibly chanting “Power to the People!” somewhere between the breakroom and the picket line.
And thus we arrive at an incredible crossroads in the aerospace saga: as Airbus takes a chainsaw to its workforce, Boeing’s circus seems determined to keep juggling wrecking balls. Welcome to the absurdity of corporate life, where the stakes are high, and everyone seems to have lost the plot!
Olesya Dmitracova contributed reporting.
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