Guilhem Ganivet, a union member of Force Ouvrière, joined Thales Alenia Space (TAS) in 1996 and does not remember experiencing a restructuring plan of such magnitude. “This is unprecedented and the situation is serious”, said this technician, microphone in hand, in front of 700 employees gathered at the request of an inter-union FO, CFE-CGC, CFDT, CGT meeting, on the platform at the entrance to the Toulouse factory, on Tuesday 17 September. “This plan is stupid and incoherent because our workload is set until the end of 2025. We are asking for it to be stopped outright and we will not give up.”
The FO secretary of the Toulouse social and economic council (CSE) does not use language to describe the “adaptation plan” of the joint company owned by Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), specialized in the manufacture of satellites and of land segments. It plans to eliminate 1,237 jobs in Europe between 2023 and 2025, including 980 jobs in France.
The Toulouse site, home to the French subsidiary specialising in the manufacture of telecommunications payloads, is particularly affected, with the loss of 650 jobs out of a total of 2,700 people.
A few kilometres from the pink city, 600 employees gathered at the other French headquarters of TAS, in Cannes (Alpes-Maritimes). Dedicated to the assembly, integration and testing of telecommunications and observation satellites, the factory is losing 330 of its 1,800 jobs. “People affected by the job cuts will be reassigned within the Thales Group. This means that there will be no loss of employment.” “, says the management of World. “The objective is for the company to be profitable and competitive in the medium term in the telecommunications sector.. »
Fall in global orders
Cécile Larue is not convinced. “The company liquidates competencies”, regrets this systems engineer who came to the meeting “to see the damage.” “Except that in space, most professions are specific to long cycles. We don’t train people in two weeks.”
In the highly competitive market for civil geostationary communications satellites, global orders are declining. “There used to be around twenty tenders a year. However, for the last three years, there have only been ten, no more. “, the company explains to justify the plan. Consequence: in 2022 it won six tenders, in 2023 none and in 2024 only one.
According to the group, there are two other reasons: new generation satellites – digital – which can be reconfigured in orbit, require less manpower and technological difficulties have delayed their development. The unions put things into perspective. “We must not mix the aspects but treat them in an unconnected manner. “, recommends Fabrice Rialet, central delegate of CFE-CGC. “And above all, we must establish a strategy and a vision in a growing market. “, suggests this call for tenders and project manager.
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