European aircraft manufacturer Airbus announced a major
shakeup of top management on Friday as it seeks to move on from a
corruption probe.
The firm said German chief executive
Tom Enders would not seek reappointment when his current term ends in
April 2019. And its chief operating officer and head of its commercial
aircraft unit, Fabrice Bregier, will step down in February next year to
be replaced by the head of the helicopters unit, fellow Frenchman
Guillaume Faury.
“The board of directors of Airbus SE has
decided on a series of executive changes that ensure an orderly
succession in the executive leadership of Airbus,” the company said in a
statement.
The firm has been weakened recently by major
corruption investigations in Britain and France, as well as Germany and
Austria, that have cast a pall over one of Europe's most successful and
best-known companies.
Airbus warned in October that the
investigations in France and Britain into possibly irregular payments
via middlemen could have a “material impact” on its profits and
businesses. The group is profitable largely thanks to its hugely popular
A320 shorthaul plane, but faces challenges with its A380, the world's
largest civilian airliner, as well as a long-delayed and over-budget
military plane, the A400M.
The departures at the top of
the company follow other changes sanctioned by its supervisory board
that show shareholders are keen to inject new blood into the senior
management team.
Last month, commercial director John
Leahy, who sold more than 16,000 aircraft in nearly 33 years at Airbus,
announced he would retire in January and would be replaced by Eric
Schulz, an executive from engine maker Rolls-Royce.
Enders,
59, told the Handelsblatt newspaper in October that he wanted to stay
on in his job but added: “Rest assured: if I am no longer part of the
solution, then I hope I will realise that myself and draw my own
conclusions.”
Faury, the favourite
Airbus is under investigation by French prosecutors and
Britain's Serious Fraud Office for suspected corruption in its UK-based
civil aviation arm.
The probes were opened last year
after Airbus raised suspicions itself over irregular transactions.
French investigators raided Airbus' offices in the Paris suburbs in
November. The group is also the target of inquiries in Austria and
Germany over the sale of Eurofighter military jets to Austria in 2003.
Airbus'
board of directors said it will assess both internal and external
candidates to replace Enders next year, in good time for confirmation at
the 2019 annual shareholders meeting. As the new head of the commercial
aircraft division, Guillaume Faury will be the favourite to step into
Enders' shoes.
German economy ministry spokeswoman Beate
Baron declined to be drawn on whether there is an agreement that top job
should be held alternately by German and French nationals. She
described Enders as “a longtime and very experienced executive”, adding
that his decision to quit had been a “personal” one.
Speaking
in Brussels, French President Emmanuel Macron ruled out the French
state taking a larger role in the management of Airbus, which has seen
its state shareholders drop their influence over the last decade.
Macron
also declined to comment on the corruption investigations, but he
added: “We have to be watchful about our strategic interests and that
its governance is exemplary.”
Chairman of the Airbus
supervisory board, Denis Ranque, said in a statement: “We are confident
we have taken the right decisions to ensure Airbus' long term stability
and future success.
“We fully support Tom Enders to lead Airbus through this generational handover with our full support.”
