February 20, 2007	Tuesday	Safar 2, 1428

PARIS, Feb 19: European aircraft manufacturer Airbus delayed announcing details of its long-awaited rescue plan on Monday, pointing to renewed strains between Germany and France about where cuts will fall.

The decision stemmed from a dispute about the sharing of work for Airbus’ new mid-sized long-haul jet, the A350 XWB, highlighting nationalist tensions at the heart of the company and the impact of government pressure to save jobs.

Airbus chief executive Louis Gallois stressed that there was “the need to very quickly find a solution that overcomes national issues.” The European group announced the broad outlines of its “Power 8” restructuring plan at the beginning of October, indicating that it planned to make job cuts, re-organise work between its factories, use more sub-contractors and save on supply costs.

Airbus relies on factories in Britain, France, Germany and Spain but the main tensions have arisen over the distribution of job cuts between French and German plants.—AFP