Restructuring events
European Restructuring Monitor (ERM)
The restructuring events database contains factsheets with data on large-scale restructuring events reported in the principal national media and company websites in each EU Member State. This database was created in 2002.
Thales Alenia Space (TAS), the space division of the Thales group, has announced plans to cut 980 jobs in France, according to the mangement (or, according trade unions, 1,124 jobs in France), including 715 in Toulouse. This decision was taken following a loss of €45 million in 2023 and a reduction in demand for geostationary satellite orders. Management is proposing internal transfers, which are seen as impractical for many employees, risking the loss of experienced talent.
The trade union CGT, which is in the minority at TAS, is critical of the decision to cut jobs in the space division, despite record profits in Thales's weapons division. According to CGT union delegate, management is seeking to please shareholders by sacrificing the space sector, despite the significant growth prospects for the space market.
This is part of a wider restructuring taking place at the world level ( Thales 2024 - WO).
Update 17/09/2024: Hundreds of employees gathered on 17 September to criticise the satellite manufacturer for slashing its French workforce. Employee representatives on the Thales European Works Council, meeting on 10 September, failed to deliver an opinion, thereby blocking the information and consultation procedure prior to the reorganisation. The works council is basing its decision on an expert opinion that calls into question the economic motivation, stressing that ‘the underload of work has not been proven’.
Updated, 02/06/2025 It is announced that Thales Alenia Space has frozen its decision on job cuts until at least mid-2026. The decision comes after several months of union mobilization - the CGT union has been campaigning for over a year against a restructuring programme.
Eurofound (2024), Thales Alenia Space , Internal restructuring in France, factsheet number 201376, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://dev.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/201376.