AIRBUS has confirmed that 3,200 of its workforce at Broughton are to be put on furlough.

Today (April 27), the firm said it "has agreed with its social partners to apply the UK Government’s Job Retention Scheme for approximately 3,200 Production and Production-Support employees" at its commercial aircraft site in Broughton.

The scheme is where the Government pays 80 per cent of the wages of furloughed staff.

This means that the majority of the production and production support teams at the Flintshire site will be impacted - the company's site at Filton, near Bristol, is not effected.

It is understood the furlough periods will be staggered, starting during the next three weeks. The periods will last for at least three weeks.

And that, in accordance with an agreement signed with the Trade Union, Airbus will implement a tiered approach to putting people on furlough and will top-up gross salaries up to a total of 85-90 per cent, depending on the staff member’s salary.

The confirmation comes as the chief of Airbus reportedly told staff the firm is "bleeding cash" due to the collapse in demand for air travel caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Chief executive Guillaume Faury issued the warning in a letter to the aerospace giant's employees late on Friday.

According to reports, he wrote: "We're bleeding cash at an unprecedented speed, which may threaten the very existence of our company."

He added that it must "act urgently" to survive.

The Leader:

The Airbus plant in Broughton

A spokesman for Airbus said the firm does not comment on internal communications.

The coronavirus pandemic has led to airlines grounding the majority of their fleet.

Earlier this month, Airbus announced a plan to cut its aircraft production rates by around a third.

EasyJet has reached an agreement with the manufacturer to defer the delivery of 24 new aircraft. However, this month shareholders will vote on whether to support founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou's bid to oust the company's chief executive and chairman. Sir Stelios wants the airline to cancel its £4.5 billion order with Airbus.

Airbus employs 13,500 people in the UK at Broughton and Filton, where wings for commercial aircraft are designed, tested and built.

Before the pandemic the workforce at Broughton was about 6,000 strong.

The company is due to issue its financial results for the first quarter of the year on Wednesday.

The First Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford, described Airbus as a "flagship" company in the north of the country but said solutions "go far beyond Wales".

"The difficulties facing the airline industry, including airline manufacturers, go far beyond Wales," Mr Drakeford told a Welsh Government briefing.

"We will play our part, but we need a solution that addresses the global nature of the problem."

Rhys McCarthy, from the Unite trade union, said the announcement "must serve as a wake-up call" to governments across Europe about state aid.

"Government support will not just protect the workers directly employed in the aerospace industry but also the 100,000 plus workers in the UK who are employed in the industry's supply chain," he said.

"A do-nothing approach will not only threaten tens of thousands of jobs, but make an economic recovery that more difficult and will result in UK forfeiting its leading role in aerospace."

Today's announcment is in addition to 500 Airbus contractor Guidant workers at Broughton that were furloughed at the start of the month.