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EADS denies reports it may pull out of A400M contract

a400mforest1024Jan. 26, 2009, Paris, France - Last Friday, EADS denied reports it might pull out of its troubled A400M military transport plane program, saying it is rather looking to renegotiate parts of the contract.


January 26, 2009  By The Canadian Press

a400mforest1024Jan. 26, 2009, Paris, France – Last Friday, EADS denied reports it might pull out of its
troubled A400M military transport plane program, saying it is rather looking to renegotiate parts of the contract.

The European defense and aerospace giant says that “contrary to
what has been circulated in the press,'' there are no talks within
the company about a “scenario'' to withdraw from the program. More
than 6,000 EADS employees now work on it, the company said in a
statement.

European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co., the parent of plane
maker Airbus, has been struggling to manage delays to the A400M that
have already cost Airbus euro1.7 billion (US$1.84 billion) in
penalties and other charges.

Airbus Military signed a contract in 2003 with a group
representing Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain,
and Turkey for 180 aircraft in the program. Since then, South Africa
has ordered 8 aircraft and Malaysia 4 _ for a total of 192 planes.

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EADS and Airbus recently proposed a “new approach'' to the seven
European NATO countries that first ordered the plane through
procurement agency OCCAR.

In its statement on Friday, EADS said: “There are ongoing
discussions with OCCAR and the customer governments, the aim of
which is to establish the right frame that will enable the best
achievement of the program.''

EADS shares were down 3.3 per cent to euro12.50 (US$16.10) in
midday Paris trading Friday.

THE CANADIAN PRESS

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