Airbus hit by more wildcat strikes in Germany

Reuters reported that Airbus workers at three German plants walked off the job on Wednesday in protest against planned restructuring measures by the European planemaker, the IG Metall labour union said.

The wildcat strike affected plants at Varel, Nordenham and Laupheim, where workers have previously taken unofficial action. Laupheim and Varel are due to be sold, and Airbus parent EADS is seeking a partner for Nordenham under its Power8 restructuring plan.

The walkout came after IG Metall said German labour representatives refused to hold talks on a national level over the aircraft maker's Power8 restructuring programme.

"The 'social dialogue' on a European level brought nothing to the employees," the union said in a statement.

The company, which has operations in four European countries, is in the midst of efforts to cut 10,000 jobs and sell factories after a two-year delay in deliveries of the world's largest airliner, the A380, and the external pressure of a weak dollar drove Airbus into the red last year.

Workers have fought back against the cutbacks with more wildcat strikes in the UK, France and more. See our full coverage of the struggles at Airbus as http://libcom.org/tags/airbus