Airbus to Furlough 3,200 Staff at UK's Broughton Factory Amid COVID-19 Pandemic - Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Airbus will furlough 3,200 workers at its wing-assembly factory in the UK city of Broughton, according to a statement seen by media on Monday.

The plane manufacturer said it would apply the UK government's Coronavirus Job Retention scheme, according to the ITV news channel.

The initiative will allow the company's employees in the United Kingdom to retain up to 80 percent of their usual earnings, capped at £2,500 per month per person, the report says. Over half of the factory's workforce will be affected.

Airbus employs 13,500 people in the United Kingdom. It admitted over the weekend that it was losing cash rapidly and fighting for survival after the pandemic brought global air travel to a halt.

Airbus is the largest commercial aerospace company in the UK, with sites in Broughton, Newport, Bristol, Portsmouth, and Stevenage. It also remains the biggest supplier of large aircraft to the British Royal Air Force, through the A400M Atlas and the A330 MRTT Voyager.