The chief executive of Eads has said he is prepared to discuss guarantees for jobs and production sites in his planned merger with Britain’s BAE Systems.
Tom Enders is seeking to smooth over tensions as France and Germany lock horns over the location of the resulting entity’s aerospace headquarters.
“I am so convinced about our project that I am ready to talk about attractive job and site guarantees which I could not consider for Eads,” Enders told Germany’s Bild newspaper. He said a merged company offered the best opportunities for German jobs.
Enders added he saw no advantage for Germany if the state were to buy a stake in the merged giant, saying it would cost billions of euros of taxpayers’ money.
His comments follow reports the merger could trigger the early payment of share options that would hand BAE Systems chief executive Ian King an £18 million windfall. BAE declined to comment.
