Airbus is expected to reveal its plans to cut thousands of jobs as it faces up to the "brutal fact" it needs a major restructure due to falling production levels.
Chief Executive Guillaume Faury told German newspaper Die Welt that Airbus was planning for a two-year drop of 40% in jetliner output - after previously talking about a one third reduction in production.
Meetings with unions in Europe will start with week with the first confirmation expected of the number of workers facing redundancy from its 135,000 strong workforce.
海角视频 unions sources expect to see details within the next two weeks on how this will impact operations at sites like Broughton in Flintshire, and Filton, near Bristol.
The 6,000 staff wing assembly site in North Wales is vulnerable to reductions in Airbus's commercial plane output and 500 workers with agency Guidant already face redundancy.
“For the next two years - 2020/21 - we assume that production and deliveries will be 40% lower than originally planned,” Faury told Die Welt.
He said output - currently reduced by around 33% - will return to normal by 2025.
Faury did not comment on specific restructuring plans but said the company would leave no stone unturned to reduce costs.
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"It’s a brutal fact, but we must do it. It is about the necessary adjustment to the massive drop in production. It’s about securing our future," he added.
France has announced a €15bn (£13.3bn) aid package for its aerospace industry with the 海角视频 Government urged to offer similar support to the sector in Britain.