Guillaume Faury has been leading Airbus since April 2019. His total compensation for 2023 reached €4.9 million, an amount that crystallizes internal debates at the European aircraft manufacturer. Understanding how this figure is constructed, what mechanisms cap it, and why it has surged in recent years requires looking beyond the simple total displayed.
The analysis of Guillaume Faury’s salary at Airbus reveals a more constrained salary structure than it appears, with safeguards that theoretically limit any uncontrolled surge in compensation.
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Capping the annual variable component at Airbus
Airbus’s compensation policy for the 2023-2025 period sets an explicit cap on the annual variable component, expressed as a multiple of the CEO’s fixed salary. This mechanism means that even in a record year for orders or deliveries, the annual bonus cannot exceed a predefined limit set by the board of directors.
This framework distinguishes Airbus from some groups where the variable component has no formal cap. The board ties this variable component to several indicators: revenue growth, operational profitability, and extra-financial criteria. The respective weight of each indicator is calibrated to prevent a single exceptional quarter from causing the bonus to skyrocket.
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In practice, this cap acts as a stabilizer. Prosperous years do not translate into unlimited compensation, and years of industrial disruption mechanically reduce the variable component. It is this latter case that best illuminates the actual functioning of the system.
Industrial disruptions and their impact on Faury’s compensation
The 2023 fiscal year has not been smooth sailing for Airbus. Supply chain tensions and delivery delays have weighed on operational performance. These difficulties have directly impacted the calculation of Guillaume Faury’s variable component.
Mainstream articles often cite the total of €4.9 million without specifying that this amount already incorporates the negative effect of disruptions. Without these industrial setbacks, the variable component could have approached the authorized cap more closely. The link between operational results and the CEO’s compensation is therefore not cosmetic: it works both ways.
A bonus that decreases when production slows
The principle seems simple, but its concrete implementation is rarely detailed in Airbus’s public communications. Performance criteria are voted on at the general assembly, and shareholders have an advisory vote (say on pay) on the CEO’s compensation. This vote is not legally binding, but a massive rejection would send a political signal difficult for the board to ignore.
The annual variable component has thus decreased during fiscal years marked by delays, confirming that the system is not purely declarative.
Increase in compensation in 2025 and social context at Airbus
According to a leaflet from the CGT Airbus published in March 2026, Guillaume Faury’s compensation increased by 33% in 2025. This figure was compared to the salary proposals made to employees during the mandatory annual negotiations (NAO) for 2026:
- For non-executives (B3 to E10): 1.8% total increase, divided between 0.7% general increase and 0.8% individual increase, applicable from September 1, 2026
- For executives (F11 to H16): 1.5% individual increase on September 1, 2026, with no general increase
- A career management budget of 0.3% covering the period from July 2026 to June 2027, pooled for all employees
The gap between the increase in the CEO’s compensation and that proposed to employees fuels resentment documented by several union sections. The CGT reminds that €2.53 billion in dividends will be paid to shareholders in 2026, an increase of 6.7% compared to 2025, equivalent to more than €15,000 per Airbus employee worldwide.
A strained CEO-employee ratio
The ratio between the CEO’s compensation and the median employee salary is an indicator monitored by proxy advisors (vote advisory firms). Airbus publishes this ratio in its universal registration document, but the available data does not allow for precise conclusions about its multi-year evolution without access to the full report.
What is visible, however, is the simultaneity of a marked increase for the CEO and proposals deemed weak by the union organizations. This temporal gap, more than the absolute amounts, structures the internal social debate at Airbus.
External mandates and additional compensation for Guillaume Faury
Guillaume Faury does not only receive his Airbus compensation. He has been sitting on the board of directors of AXA since April 2021, where he chairs the Compensation, Governance, and Sustainable Development Committee. This type of mandate entitles him to attendance fees, the amount of which is set by AXA’s general assembly.
He also chaired GIFAS (Groupement des Industries Françaises de l’Aéronautique et du Spatial) until July 2025, and then ASD (Aerospace, Security and Defence Industries Association of Europe) from June 2023 to June 2025. These sector representation roles are generally not compensated at the same level as a board mandate, but they contribute to the executive’s influence ecosystem.
Faury’s total compensation thus exceeds the sole Airbus scope, even though the CEO position remains by far the primary source of his income.
The renewal of his CEO mandate in 2025 suggests that the board of directors considers the record to be positive despite the industrial tensions. The next general assembly will offer shareholders a new opportunity to vote on the compensation envelope, in a context where deliveries and the order book remain the determining variables for the calculation.