European media speculates about Airbus chief's exit

PARIS: European media is full of speculation that Airbus' chief executive Christian Streiff is considering relinquishing his position. However, Sunday none other than French prime minister Dominique de Villepin endorsed his abilities, saying there is no reason for him to quit. Villepin went to the extent of saying, "I salute the important work he has done in the last weeks to put the company back on track."Streiff had joined Airbus in July following the resignation of Gustav Humbert on account of the delays in manufacturing and cost overruns on the Airbus A380 aircraft. The aircraft maker had announced last week there will be an additional one year's delay in delivering the first A380 to its clients.Several reports said over the weekend Streiff is most likely to quit and that he had disagreements with other executives over the restructuring, including the cost cutting plans, he is proposing at the company. Streiff had last week said he will cut the company's fixed expenses by 30 per cent with measures including job cuts. Some publications even went to the extent of saying both EADS and Airbus are looking for a successor. Airbus has, however, denied Streiff is leaving, while parent company EADS described the reports as speculation.