Airbus, Europe's largest aerospace group, has announced plans to cut 2,043 jobs from its Defense and Space division, representing approximately 5% of the workforce in its second-largest unit.

The job cuts, confirmed on Wednesday, aim to address significant losses in the satellite sector due to mounting competition from low-cost providers like Elon Musk's Starlink.

More than half of the reductions, or 1,128 positions, will affect the Space Systems business, which has faced a €1.5 billion writedown linked to its troubled OneSat project.

Additional cuts include 250 positions in the Air Power division, 47 in Connected Intelligence, and 618 at the divisional headquarters.

Despite the scale of the layoffs, Airbus has pledged there will be no compulsory redundancies, with implementation expected by mid-2026.

Proton Restructure

Airbus, which builds satellites and military transporters, and plays a key role in European missile and space-launch programs, has been hit hard by the rise of cheaper, smaller satellites deployed in low Earth orbit, a sector dominated by Starlink.

The cuts are part of a broader restructuring plan called Proton, targeting overheads and fixed costs primarily through reductions in white-collar and management positions.

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The job losses will be distributed across Airbus' core nations, with Germany bearing the largest share (689 positions), followed by France (540), Britain (477), Spain (303), and other non-core nations (34).

Governments in these countries, which co-founded Airbus over 50 years ago and hold stakes in the company, have been briefed on the changes.

Satellite Shakeup

Separately, Airbus is also pursuing "Project Bromo," a proposed European satellite consortium involving Thales and Leonardo, to create a stronger competitor to Starlink.

Together, these efforts represent a dual strategy to address the challenges facing Europe's space sector.

While the cuts represent a smaller reduction than initially feared—down from an October estimate of 2,500 positions—the changes are likely to draw close attention from Airbus' unions and national governments due to their potential impact on the workforce and the broader aerospace industry.

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