German Chancellor Angela Merkel plans to meet Airbus chief Louis Gallois before the European planemaker's parent company EADS announces a cost savings programme on February 20, a magazine said on Saturday.
German weekly Der Spiegel said Merkel will urge that any jobs cuts at the firm are not disproportionately high in Germany and that key responsibilities are not shifted to France. The magazine gave no further details. Unions fear EADS will axe up to 8,000 jobs in Germany, where the aircraft manufacturer employs about 22,300 people. Up to 8,000 supplier jobs are also reckoned to be under threat.
On Friday, more than 24,000 Airbus workers, suppliers and supporters staged protests to fight for the future of the planemaker's seven German plants. Details of EADS' cost-saving programme are due to be presented to the workforce on February 20.
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