Airbus Helicopter Cuts Jobs, Fights Super Puma Bans

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Airbus Helicopters said it will cut about 582 jobs at its facilities in France as the company continues to face lower demand along with the aftermath of a fatal crash of one of its H225 rotorcraft in Norway. The cuts, to be achieved through voluntary resignations, will amount to a small percentage of the aerospace giant’s helicopter division in France, which employs more than 9700 people there, Bloomberg reported Wednesday. The cuts are a result of falling demand from the oil and gas industry, which uses commercial-duty helicopters including the 11-ton H225, also called the Super Puma. The European Aviation Safety Agency grounded the model following the April 29 crash off the coast of Norway. That helicopter, carrying 13, was flying under contract for a Norwegian oil company when its rotor blades detached.

EASA in recent weeks has allowed the Super Pumas to fly again, while authorities in Britain and Norway have not, prompting Airbus to challenge the U.K. ban, according to a Reuters report this week. “Frankly we have to understand why they are not following EASA,” an Airbus executive was quoted as saying to analysts. The remark raised questions over how industry regulations across Europe will be managed as Britain prepares to leave the European Union. “We fully respect the right of the U.K. government to exercise their individual assessment of the H225 and we’re working with the authorities closely to also have the flight suspension there lifted as soon as possible,” an Airbus Group spokesman told Reuters, which noted that the April crash remains under investigation.

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