Airbus troubles top agenda at summit talks

The burden of possible job cuts at Airbus should be spread between its two main sites in Hamburg, Germany, and Toulouse, France, French President Jacques Chirac said today.

Speaking after talks with visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Chirac said the “key to the success” of restructuring at Airbus is that cuts should be “harmoniously shared between the two main sites, Hamburg and Toulouse".

Merkel said at a joint news conference that the German government had not yet decided whether to take a stake in Airbus parent EADS.

“We have not made any decision, but I have not ruled anything out,” Merkel said, adding that her priority was to ensure that the Franco-German defence group had “reliable investors".

One of the core shareholders in EADS, German carmaker DaimlerChrysler AG, has indicated it is seeking to reduce its stake in the company to 15% from the current 22.5%.