EADS cuts 5,800 jobs

The company, which owns Airbus, plans to reorganise its European defence and space businesses. It says there will be a "substantial consolidation" of sites in Germany, France, Spain and the UK. EADS chief executive officer Tom Enders said: "We need to improve our competitiveness in defence and space – and we need to do it now. With our traditional markets down, we urgently need to improve access to international customers, to growth markets. "For that to work, we need to cut costs, eliminate product and resource overlaps, create synergies in our operations and product portfolio and better focus our Research and Development efforts. That's what the restructuring and integration plan for our defence and space business is all about." As part of the headcount reduction, around 500 positions will be cut from corporate functions and services. Thierry Baril, chief human resources officer at EADS and Airbus, said: "Timing and sizing of a one-off charge related to this plan is under evaluation. "Our people are key to our company's success and we have a track record of constructive social dialogue that supports the company´s development. As the restructuring plan is of paramount importance for the future of our defence and space business, we are committed to mitigating the social impact of the necessary adjustments as much as possible."