The executive chairman of Airbus Group has just decided the most important change in the group’s governance since his appointment in April 2019. Guillaume Faury will no longer be the boss of the airliner division, entrusted to the current commercial director, the German Christian Scherer, a veteran of the house, announced Airbus in a press release, Tuesday September 26, confirming information from the Reuters agency and the Financial Times. This reorganization, submitted to the social partners, must be effective at the beginning of 2024.
The commercial aircraft activity remains the heart of the group of 134,000 employees: with 41.4 billion euros in 2022, it represents 70% of its turnover and 82% of its operating profit. Airbus plans to deliver 720 aircraft in 2023, making a considerable effort to strengthen its supply chain, still not fully recovered from the Covid crisis. It cannot yet count on the new final assembly line, inaugurated in July in Blagnac (Haute-Garonne), which will not release aircraft before 2024. “We are on the right trajectory” for 2023, Mr. Faury nevertheless judged at the end of July, when his company had already delivered 316 aircraft to its customers in the first half.
If he takes over operational management, Mr. Scherer will remain under the authority of Mr. Faury. However, the latter does not want to return to the silo organization that prevailed before 2017. Airbus must remain integrated, which, according to him, has enabled rapid execution in times of crisis (health, industrial, etc.), indicates we within the group.
Airbus Commercial Aircratf should not become a subsidiary, like Airbus Defense & Space based in Munich with its own general director, Michael Schoellhorn, nor like Airbus Helicopters or Airbus Atlantic (design and manufacturing of aerostructures, etc.).
“Complex and rapidly changing global environment”
The modification of the organization chart reflects the numerous developments that have occurred in the economic and geopolitical landscape since the appointment of Mr. Faury more than four years ago. It will enable the airliner construction activity to “benefit from special operational attention in these difficult times” and to the president of “focus on the strategic, global and transformational agenda of the company”specifies Airbus, Tuesday.
“Name Christian [Scherer] Managing Director of the commercial aviation branch will allow me to devote my time to piloting Airbus in a complex and rapidly changing global environment”, indicated Mr. Faury. The latter has also held the presidency of the French Aeronautical and Space Industries Group for two years and, since June, that of the European Association of Aerospace, Security and Defense Industries.
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