Berlin - Airbus is to cut a total of 8,000 jobs from its
payroll, with 3,500 being lost in Germany and 4,200 in France, the
German daily Die Welt reported Tuesday, citing company sources.
Although the new A350 range, using advanced carbon fibre
technology, would largely be built in France, the fuselage would be
made in Germany, the report said. This meant the new light-weight
technology would be developed in Germany.
Die Welt said it had information that production of the successful
A320 range would move entirely to Germany.
Late Monday, EADS, the parent company of Airbus, announced the
board of directors had unanimously approved the 'Power8' plan to
restructure Airbus, which has been hit by delays and losses related
to its A380 'superjumbo.'
The programme is to be discussed with the Airbus European Works
Council on Wednesday.
Through the cuts, Airbus aims to achieve an increase in operating
profit of some 2.1 billion euros (2.7 billion dollars) in 2010, along
with an cumulative increase in cash flow of 5 billion euros over the
three years 2007-10.
EADS is to announce results for 2006 on March 9, when the losses
at Airbus will become apparent.
An announcement last week by French Prime Minister Dominique de
Villepin that 10,000 jobs would be lost at Airbus sparked a furore in
Germany and France, where most of the company's staff of 57,000 are
employed.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Jacques
Chirac met Friday near Berlin to stake out their respective country's
interests. They agreed that cuts had to be made and that they should
fall equally on the two countries.
It was also clear at the summit that, apart from the job losses,
the division of the technological expertise was of key importance to
the two leaders.
Airbus has its major assembly plants in Toulouse and Hamburg, with
several smaller facilities in France and Germany. The wings are made
in Britain.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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