Airbus parent EADS is suing "unknown persons" for leaking an internal document that suggested tensions at the Franco-German company as it tries to resolve a crisis sparked by delays to the A380 superjumbo. EADS said on Thursday it had filed a legal complaint, which included a suit for damages, in Paris on Wednesday.
"The legal (grounds) of the complaint are theft, harbouring and unauthorised disclosure of strictly internal and confidential draft documentation, which is company property," it said, adding it had also set up an internal investigation.
French newspaper Le Monde said on Monday that French officials, including embattled co-Chief Executive Noel Forgeard had expressed doubts over EADS's targets on May 12, over a month before a public announcement of delays to deliveries of the Airbus A380 superjumbo sliced a quarter off EADS's share value.
The report cited minutes of an EADS audit committee meeting. EADS on Tuesday had branded the leak, which suggested a Franco-German split over how to handle signs of the A380 difficulties, as a deliberate attempt to play up reports of company divisions and said the company was "shocked".
"This draft document appears to be used deliberately with the intention of pointing to alleged Franco-German tensions, which are not existing, and which the draft document itself does not even evidence in any way, shape or form," EADS said in its statement on Thursday. Le Monde said the document showed that Airbus had told EADS it would deliver 17-20 A380 planes at best in 2007, with a middle-case target of 13.