'Gravest crisis' as Airbus plans to cut 15,000 jobs, 1,700 in UK

Aircraft manufacturer, which has a plant in Broughton, north Wales, has been hit hard by pandemic

The planemaker Airbus has announced plans to cut as many as 15,000 jobs - including 1,700 in the UK - as it warned the coronavirus pandemic had triggered the gravest crisis" in its history.

The planned cuts represent almost 15% of the European aerospace company's global workforce of 135,000, underlining the depth of the crisis hitting the aviation and aerospace industries. Airbus said the cuts would be made no later than 2021 after commercial aircraft business activity dropped by close to 40% in recent months.