Brazil-based major aerospace group Embraer announced on Thursday that it was cutting its worldwide workforce by 4.5%, in part owing to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, but also because of the effects of US company Boeing cancelling its partnership with the Brazilian enterprise. In Brazil, where most of Embraer’s employees are based, this downsizing will cost some 900 jobs.

Covid-19 had hit Embraer Commercial Aviation particularly hard, the group pointed out. Deliveries of Embraer airliners fell by 75% during the first half of this year, in comparison with the figure for the same period last year. The group is the world’s number one manufacturer of airliners with up to 150 seats.

“The situation worsened as a result of the duplication of structures associated with the carve out of the company’s commercial aviation business in preparation for the partnership which was terminated at the initiative of Boeing,” pointed out the company in its statement. Further, it now expected that the commercial air transport sector would not recover in either the short or medium terms.

Embraer affirmed that it had been trying to protect jobs since the start of the pandemic. The measures it had adopted had included reduced working hours, furloughs and collective vacations. It had also offered three voluntary dismissal plans (VDPs) to workers. Some 1 600 of its Brazilian employees had accepted these VDPs.

At its industrial plants, the group had reduced face-to-face work. This was both to protect the health of its employees and to ensure continuity of the business. 

“The company recognises and appreciates the commitment of those professionals who are leaving the organisation and counts on the commitment of all employees to overcome the current crisis and maintain the company’s competitiveness in the global market,” stated Embraer. In addition to commercial aviation, the group is active in executive aviation, military aviation and defence and security, and agricultural aviation.