Thousands of Airbus employees in Spain have resumed strike action after rejecting the European aerospace group's latest proposal on pay and working conditions, renewing a labor dispute that could affect several important commercial and military aircraft programs.
The new stoppages began on Tuesday, August 25, following 22 days of industrial action in July. Unions described the latest action as an indefinite strike, although another mediation meeting is scheduled for Thursday.
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UGT, CGT and UTIL, the three unions that called the strike, represent around 40% of Airbus' approximately 14,000 employees in Spain, according to French unions briefed on the dispute. Spanish unions said around 90% of eligible workers participated in Tuesday's action, although that figure could not be independently verified.
Workers rejected proposals presented by Airbus during mediation after plant-level assemblies concluded that the company had not provided sufficiently firm commitments or implementation dates.
Among the issues are salaries linked to inflation, remote-working arrangements, sick-leave benefits, holidays, flexible working hours and employee transportation.
Airbus had already retreated from plans to substantially increase office attendance following the earlier protests. The company had sought to move toward four days per week in the office but will instead continue allowing employees to work remotely for an average of two days per week.
UGT said Airbus has also agreed to link salaries to Spain's consumer price index and has withdrawn a legal appeal related to sick-leave payments. The union argues that other elements of the company's proposal remain insufficiently defined.
Production implications extend beyond commercial aircraft
Spain occupies an unusually important position within Airbus' military aircraft business, meaning an extended strike could have consequences well beyond the company's commercial aircraft delivery target.
Airbus Defence and Space employs around 9,000 people at five Spanish sites. Its Air Power business is led from the country, while several aircraft programs depend directly on Spanish facilities.
Seville is the final assembly location for both the A400M strategic airlifter and C295 tactical transport. The latter has a substantial orderbook that includes 16 maritime patrol and surveillance aircraft ordered by Spain in 2023 and another 18 transport aircraft ordered in December 2025.
Getafe, near Madrid, is home to the Spanish Eurofighter final assembly line and performs A400M maintenance. More importantly for international customers, it is Airbus' global A330 MRTT conversion center.
Standard A330-200 airframes are assembled in Toulouse, France, before aircraft destined to become MRTTs are converted at Getafe with military avionics and aerial refueling equipment.
Any sustained disruption there could therefore become relevant to the international MRTT backlog. Airbus has multiple tanker programs underway, while Spain itself is completing the conversion of three former Iberia A330s and has just approved the framework for a joint acquisition with Poland covering another seven aircraft — three for Spain and four for Poland.
Spanish facilities are also deeply integrated into Airbus' commercial production system. The country manufactures horizontal stabilizers for the entire Airbus commercial aircraft family, including the A321XLR, alongside other aerostructures and composite components.
Airbus is targeting 870 commercial aircraft deliveries in 2026. Union representatives told Reuters that the industrial action has already slowed military and commercial production and could make that objective more difficult to achieve.
Airbus said last week that disruption affecting administrative and support functions had not yet affected production. The company has also frozen planned hiring in Spain while the strike continues, according to the head of its Spanish works council. A new mediation session is scheduled for Thursday.
