Airbus reduces wing production at Broughton as part of coronavirus response

Aircraft manufacturer Airbus is reducing production at its Broughton wing-making plant, near Chester.

The move follows an evaluation of production flow across the European group’s sites.

Broughton employs more than 6,000 staff making wings for the group’s commercial aircraft.

Airbus said that, following a review of completed stock levels developed recently, and the immediate demand from final assembly lines, the Broughton site, and a plant in Bremen, Germany, will “adapt the production activity in the wing plants for the next three weeks”.

It said this means that the production, and corresponding activities for support to production of the wing plants in Bremen, Filton in Bristol, and Broughton will be reduced, with an extended Easter holiday brought in at Broughton and Filton and a reduced working week at Bremen.

The sites will remain open during this period and will continue to ensure wing deliveries to the final assembly lines, the receipt and control of materials and components from the supply chain, building and installation maintenance, critical administrative support and preparation for activity re-start.

Airbus said employees will continue to perform activities remotely via home-working where their activities are not directly related to the production activity being adapted.

Airbus partially resumed production and assembly work in France and Spain on Monday, March 23, following a four day pause.

At the same time, operations in the UK, Germany and the US continued at normal rates.

The pause in production on the European continent was due to introducting new working practices in light of the current coronavirus pandemic.

It said work stations would only re-open if they comply with the new health and safety measures in terms of hygiene, cleaning and self-distancing while improving the efficiency of operations under new working conditions.