The aviation firm, Airbus, has announced it is to cut 10,000 jobs across Europe over the next four years.
France will be worst hit with 4,300 job losses, the rest will be lost in Germany, Britain and Spain.
Airbus has been struggling following production delays to its flagship A380 superjumbo project.
The restructuring announced at the company's headquarters in Toulouse follows a dramatic decline in Airbus's fortunes in the past year when rival Boeing restored its lead in global aircraft sales for the first time since 2000.
A two-year delivery delay on Airbus's A380 super jumbo cost the parent company, EADS, some €5 billion.
The crisis was compounded by strategy errors on its next model, the A350, and a weak dollar that boosted Boeing.
By making contractors share the job cuts among the four European countries, the plane maker could limit the impact on its own workforce to some 5,000 jobs or 9% of its 55,000 staff.
The plan had caused a split between France and Germany, who have now agreed to share both job losses and new technology.
Unions have threatened strikes over the cutbacks, which are also expected to involve the sale of up to a quarter of its 16 factories to Airbus suppliers and partnerships for others.
'We totally oppose the closure of any site and we won't accept any firings,' said European Metalworkers Federation head Peter Scherrer after a gathering of Airbus unions yesterday.
