PARIS (Reuters) – ArianeGroup, the space launchers joint-venture between Airbus <AIR.PA> and Safran <SAF.PA<, on Monday said it plans to cut 2,300 jobs by 2022.

“The end of the development of Ariane 6 and the need to increase competitiveness in the European rocket launch business compel ArianeGroup to reduce its capacity by the equivalent of 2,300 full-time jobs by 2022,” the company said in a statement.

The firm announced in December 2017 that it planned to move ahead with production of the first Ariane 6, Europe’s next-generation rocket. The first flight of the replacement for the Ariane 5 government and commercial launcher is scheduled for mid-2020.

ArianGroup competes with U.S. entrepreneur Elon Musk’s SpaceX and several other rocket launch firms.

(Reporting by GV De Clercq; editing by Richard Lough)