PARIS, Jan 25 - Airbus' chief executive has warned employees that the company needs to be ready to navigate new and unsettling geopolitical risks after a year in which trade tensions and protectionist measures inflicted clear logistical and financial harm.
In an internal letter circulated to staff, Guillaume Faury said the start of 2026 "is marked by an unprecedented number of crises and by unsettling geopolitical developments. We should proceed in a spirit of solidarity and self-reliance." He added that "the industrial landscape in which we operate is sown with difficulties, exacerbated by the confrontation between the U.S. and China."
Airbus declined comment on the contents of internal communications.
Faury described multiple trade pressures that had already "caused significant collateral damage, logistically and financially." He pointed to a series of steps over the past year that have disrupted normal flows: last April, U.S. President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs, which led to Chinese restrictions on rare earth exports; Washington later temporarily froze exports of engines and other key components to China, which uses them for its C919 jet; and U.S. parts are also needed for Airbus jets assembled in China. The company has since won a partial reprieve from U.S. tariffs.
Despite what he called trade upheaval, Faury congratulated the group’s 160,000 staff for what he described as "good results" overall in 2025, without elaborating on details. Airbus is scheduled to publish its results on February 19.
On the company’s business units, he said Airbus Defence and Space "is now on a much stronger footing thanks to its deeper restructuring," and described Airbus Helicopters as "remarkably consistent in the strength of its performance."
Recall and operational discipline
Faury also emphasised lessons from operational setbacks. He said it was "imperative" that Airbus learn from its biggest ever recall in November, which involved a software upgrade. Days after that recall, the company was forced to cut delivery goals because of flawed fuselage panels, though it retained its broader financial targets - a result Faury said was supported in part by progress on a commercial cost-cutting plan.
"We must be more rigorous in managing our systems and products in general," he wrote, underscoring a push for tighter oversight across engineering and production processes.
Faury said post-COVID supply chains had improved relative to the worst disruptions but remained a persistent source of difficulty. He flagged engine supply as a particular pain point: "Our most serious difficulties have been with the Pratt & Whitney and CFM engines," he said.
Earlier this month, recently retired commercial chief executive Christian Scherer had said A320-family engines continued to arrive late and singled out Pratt & Whitney. Pratt & Whitney declined to comment on that point.
Faury’s message combines a recognition of commercial success in 2025 with a cautionary note about an unsettled geopolitical environment and ongoing operational vulnerabilities. The letter calls for collective resilience within the company as it contends with trade frictions, supply-chain weakness and internal quality and systems challenges.