Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury has warned employees that the European aerospace giant must prepare for growing geopolitical risks following significant logistical and financial setbacks linked to U.S. protectionism and U.S.-China trade tensions last year.
“The beginning 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,” Faury said in an internal letter seen by Reuters. “The industrial landscape in which we operate is sown with difficulties, exacerbated by the confrontation between the U.S. and China.”
The memo, circulated last week, comes amid international tensions, including disagreements between Washington and its allies over Greenland and debates on NATO’s strategic role. Airbus, a major European defense supplier, declined to comment on the contents of the internal letter.
Faury highlighted that trade pressures had already caused “significant collateral damage, logistically and financially.” In April 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump imposed sweeping tariffs, prompting China to limit rare earth exports. Later, Washington temporarily froze exports of engines and other key components to China, affecting the production of its C919 jet, which relies on U.S. parts also used for Airbus jets assembled in China. The aerospace manufacturer has since received a partial reprieve from U.S. tariffs.
Despite these challenges, Faury praised Airbus’s 160,000 employees for delivering “good results” in 2025, without providing detailed figures. The company is scheduled to publish its annual results on February 19. Airbus Defence and Space, he noted, “is now on a much stronger footing thanks to its deeper restructuring,” while Airbus Helicopters has shown “remarkably consistent” performance.
Faury emphasized the importance of learning from operational setbacks, including the group’s largest-ever recall in November, which involved a software upgrade. Shortly afterward, Airbus was forced to lower delivery targets due to flawed fuselage panels but maintained overall financial goals, partly through a commercial cost-cutting program. “We must be more rigorous in managing our systems and products in general,” Faury wrote.
The CEO also acknowledged ongoing supply chain disruptions, despite post-COVID improvements. He identified Pratt & Whitney and CFM engines as the most significant challenges. Earlier this month, recently retired commercial CEO Christian Scherer noted delays with A320-family engines, singling out Pratt & Whitney, which has not commented publicly.
The head of Airbus has warned staff that the planemaker must be ready to adapt to unsettling new geopolitical risks, signaling that 2026 may be a year in which careful planning and resilience will be critical to maintaining operations and meeting global demand.
