Arianespace staff ‘symbolic’ strike
July 10, 2014
By Chris Forrester
Arianespace’s workers staged a brief ‘token’ strike on July 8, and said to show their anxieties over the company’s future.
In particular the workers, who walked out for just 30 minutes, said the walkout was not intended to be critical of management but an expression of extreme disquiet over the future strategy of the European Space Agency (ESA) as regards Arianspace.
ESA, which is funded by Europe’s governments, wants the Ariane rocket builder (Airbus Defence & Space Group) to create a joint venture with rocket-engine builder Safran, and for the duo to then streamline production of Ariane’s next-generation rockets.
Staff concerns include whether Arianespace would survive intact, and whether the company would quit its Every, Paris headquarters and move to another location within the Airbus/Safran business.