Airbus is slashing 477 jobs in the UK and 2,000 globally by mid-2026, representing 5% of its total workforce.

The aeronautics and space company is making the cuts in a bid to lower costs as profits drop despite an increase in sales.

Most of the role reductions will be made in the company’s space division, where 1,128 positions will be axed, while 618 will go from its headquarters. In its air power department and its connected intelligence department, 250 and 47 jobs will be cut respectively.

Globally, Western Europe will see the highest number of cuts, with 689 in Germany, 540 in France, 303 in Spain and 34 across the rest of the world.

However, the headcount reduction is less than previously anticipated. In October, the firm had announced that 2,500 positions could go.

At the time, Mike Schoellhorn, CEO of Airbus’s second-largest division by revenue, insisted the business needed to take action in an “increasingly difficult space market”.

In a statement, he said: “This requires us to become faster, leaner and more competitive.”

Profits at Airbus dropped to £1.8 billion in the nine months to the end of October, despite sales increasing to £44.5 billion.

The company said it is not planning compulsory redundancies, and nearly all of the roles affected are not connected to specific programmes or projects.

In 2020, the firm announced 15,000 were to go globally, including 1,700 in the UK, as a result of the pandemic and its impact on profits.

Airbus has been contacted for comment.

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