Resignation leaves Airbus turnaround plan in doubt
PARIS — The head of Airbus quit Monday after 99 days on the job, saying he hoped his departure would deliver a “salutary shock” to a company he had found impossible to manage. The troubled European plane maker’s parent company, EADS, named one of its co-chief executives to replace him.
The resignation of Christian Streiff deals a fresh blow to Airbus as the company struggles to contain the damage to its finances and reputation from a major new delay to its A380 superjumbo blamed on wiring problems.
Louis Gallois, who headed France’s state-owned SNCF railway company before joining European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. in July, replaces Streiff in the top Airbus job while also retaining his current role as joint head of the Franco-German defense group.
Streiff, a 52-year-old former Saint-Gobain executive, had won support for his Airbus turnaround plan from EADS directors but clashed with the board over how the plan could be implemented and how much control he would exercise.
In an interview for today’s edition of the French daily Le Figaro, Streiff said he had not been given the “operational powers” to do the job and overcome resistance among “certain shareholders” to make the production changes needed to deliver savings. “I hope this will be a salutary shock that will oblige Airbus to rethink its governance and evolve positively,” Streiff said of his decision to quit.
He refused to comment on unconfirmed reports that he has been selected to replace retiring PSA Peugeot-Citroen boss Jean-Martin Folz and insisted the French carmaker had “nothing to do with my decision to leave Airbus.”