Agreement rejected in principle in Mirabel | Airbus said it was studying “all possible options”.

Airbus said it had “put everything on the table” in talks with its 1,300 union members, who assembled the A220 – still in short supply – at Mirabel. After rejecting a deal in principle for a 22% pay rise over five years, the plane maker said it was studying “all possible options”.

In a telephone interview, he said he had already contacted the employer to set new dates to resume negotiations. Mr Rancourt claimed he had not received a response from Airbus on Sunday. Airbus' statement stressed that it was “necessary” to resolve the standoff “as soon as possible”.

The first two employer offers were almost unanimously rejected by its workers, following recommendations from their union. This third proposal from Airbus is based on a five-year employment contract with annual salary increases of 8%, 3%, 3%, 4% and 4%. They should be applied in advance by December 2.

Stretching is a problem

Industrial peace is one of the issues Airbus needs to address as part of its strategy to make the program profitable. To achieve this, the European aircraft manufacturer needs to double its current production rate within two years and be able to deliver 14 examples of the A220 per month. In 2023, 68 devices will be delivered to customers. After the first three months of the year, A220 deliveries reached 12. The multinational still has a lot of work to do.

“This is a young aircraft program and efforts still need to be made to ensure its long-term success,” Mr Bertin said.

Any delay in the profitability schedule could have consequences for Quebec taxpayers, who own 25% of the program developed by Bombardier after injecting 1.7 billion since 2015. By agreeing to pay 380 million in 2022, Quebec was able to move back to 2030. A moment when Airbus could buy back its stake in the A220.

The longer profits wait, the more money the Quebec state leaves on the table.