EADS to sneeze at state aid?
March 5, 2012
The European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS) is currently examining if it can do without German state support, the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper reported in its Monday edition.
The aerospace giant's considerations to renounce financial support from Germany come in the wake of a widening dispute between the company and the German government over EADS' large-scale restructuring plans.
The company's new chief executive, Tom Enders, has announced that the firm's management center would in future be located in Toulouse, France, only, moving away from the current division of management tasks between Toulouse, Paris and Ottobrunn near Munich in Germany.
Berlin is not amused
Germany's Government Coordinator for the Aerospace Sector, Peter Hintze, has repeatedly criticized the planned concentration of power in Toulouse, fearing that German interests might fall by the wayside.
Consequently, Berlin has increasingly been putting pressure on EADS to reconsider its reforms. In a bid to become more independent, EADS, and its subsidiary Airbus, have in turn been considering forgoing development funds, which amount to one billion euros ($1.32 billion) this year alone.
Half of the funds have already been transferred with a view to helping EADS build its long-haul A350 aircraft. However, Airbus may well refuse the remainder, as it currently has 11.4 billion euros in net liquidity, according to the Frankfurter Allgemeine daily.
hg/gb (dapd, AFP)