November 24, 2008
EADS still plans to sell some of its Airbus factories in Germany and France, a spokesman said on Monday.
Financial Times Deutschland earlier cited industry sources as saying the company has had to put on hold plans to sell the factories for at least three year, after a sale to a consortium led by Germany's OHB failed earlier this year.
Airbus had planned to cut 10,000 jobs and sell all or parts of six factories as part of its "Power 8" restructuring plan, aimed at cutting costs in the wake of damaging delays to its aircraft production timetable.
One plant has since been sold to a consortium of German supplier Diehl and France's Thales, and Airbus earlier this month said it had concluded negotiations to divest one other plant.
The remaining plants -- in Germany's Varel, Nordenham and Augsburg and France's Meaulte and Saint-Nazaire -- are to be bundled into two new companies, Premium Aerotec in Germany and Aerolia in France, it has said.
A person familiar with the matter said that a supervisory board meeting would approve an agreement to retain at least a majority stake in the factories for three years.
"That means someone taking a minority stake is not ruled out," the source said, adding a complete sale could come after 2011.
The supervisory board meeting was scheduled for Monday.
In Germany, the agreement would include a commitment not to cut jobs until 2013, the source said.
The Airbus spokesman declined to comment on the matter.
(Reuters)
EADS still plans to sell some of its Airbus factories in Germany and France, a spokesman said on Monday.
Financial Times Deutschland earlier cited industry sources as saying the company has had to put on hold plans to sell the factories for at least three year, after a sale to a consortium led by Germany's OHB failed earlier this year.
Airbus had planned to cut 10,000 jobs and sell all or parts of six factories as part of its "Power 8" restructuring plan, aimed at cutting costs in the wake of damaging delays to its aircraft production timetable.
One plant has since been sold to a consortium of German supplier Diehl and France's Thales, and Airbus earlier this month said it had concluded negotiations to divest one other plant.
The remaining plants -- in Germany's Varel, Nordenham and Augsburg and France's Meaulte and Saint-Nazaire -- are to be bundled into two new companies, Premium Aerotec in Germany and Aerolia in France, it has said.
A person familiar with the matter said that a supervisory board meeting would approve an agreement to retain at least a majority stake in the factories for three years.
"That means someone taking a minority stake is not ruled out," the source said, adding a complete sale could come after 2011.
The supervisory board meeting was scheduled for Monday.
In Germany, the agreement would include a commitment not to cut jobs until 2013, the source said.
The Airbus spokesman declined to comment on the matter.
(Reuters)