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Airbus backs down on return-to-office after protests: Report
Managers can keep existing two-day home-working arrangements after protests, as about 40% of Airbus's 14,000 workers in Spain joined strikes, unions said.
Airbus scaled back its plan to reduce remote work, allowing managers to maintain existing arrangements averaging two days at home per week and suspending a proposed one-day limit.
Union protests and strikes in Spain, France, and Britain prompted the change, with approximately 40% of Spain's 14,000 Airbus workers participating in walkouts over office-return mandates and other workplace issues.
Flexible work remains vital for recruitment as Airbus competes with higher-paid "digital nomad" sectors, while 25% of staff joined in the past three years, complicating any return-to-office push.
An Airbus spokesperson said "effective change requires listening to our people," confirming the company will implement the transition more gradually while still aiming for increased on-site presence.
CEO Guillaume Faury, who previously urged staff to return to the office to support production, now faces a strategic retreat as labor unrest forces a shift from his original mandate.