EADS courting German support for BAE merger

AIRBUS manufacturer EADS has said it is open to talks about job guarantees as part of its planned merger with BAE Systems.

In a move seen as trying to win the support of Germany for the deal, EADS chief executive Tom Enders said he was so convinced by the merits of the merger that he was willing to discuss “attractive job and site guarantees”.

EADS employs about 50,000 people in Germany across 29 sites and German Chancellor Angela Merkel wants to avoid plant closures or major job losses just a year before an election

The development came as BAE Systems denied that chief executive Ian King stands to make £18 million if the firm’s merger with Airbus EADS goes ahead. The company said a report saying that King had accumulated lucrative share options and would receive a huge windfall was “grossly misleading”.

A spokesman for BAE said : “The amounts mentioned in the article are wildly speculative and inaccurate. As the article notes it is not clear whether any or all of the options would actually be paid out in the event the proposed transaction does proceed.”

UK unions are also seeking assurances over jobs, although officials also fear there will be job losses in the long term if the deal does not go ahead.

Pressure is mounting on Enders and King who, under UK takeover rules, have until 10 October to say whether they will press on with talks to create the world’s biggest defence and aerospace firm.