The EADS Board of Directors has reviewed the Group aeronautic activities, and in particular the situation with Sogerma, taking into account the willingness of the French government to support the aeronautic industry through appropriate means.
The Board has underlined that the decision to withdraw from the Bordeaux-Merignac site has been taken after a thorough and professional review of all possible options open to EADS to maintain an aeronautic activity on the Merignac site; in its responsibility vis-à-vis its employees, the Board has confirmed that every Sogerma employee in Merignac will be proposed at least one offer to transfer to another EADS industrial site in France.
However, the EADS Board has acknowledged that there are high expectations to sustain industrial activities in the Bordeaux-Merignac area. Therefore, the Board has suggested to set-up a working group with the appropriate authorities, in order to study the possibility to sustain those activities with the full support both of EADS and the French government.
The Board has instructed the EADS management to implement this study in an open and determined spirit, with a goal to protect a core of about 300 working positions on the Bordeaux-Merignac aeronautic site.
The Board encourages the Sogerma employees to give appropriate consideration to the mobility proposals presented by Airbus and Eurocopter, which remain at the core of the EADS commitment to offer an appropriate employment for all Bordeaux-Merignac Sogerma employees.
EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2005, EADS generated revenues of € 34.2 billion and employed a workforce of about 113,000. The EADS Group includes the aircraft manufacturer Airbus, the world's largest helicopter supplier Eurocopter and the joint venture MBDA, the international leader in missile systems. EADS is the major partner in the Eurofighter consortium, is the prime contractor for the Ariane launcher, develops the A400M military transport aircraft and is the largest industrial partner for the European satellite navigation system Galileo.
