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August 30, 2008 1:42:44 AM CDT

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Weak Dollar a 'Life Threat' to Airbus

Posted Nov 23, 07 6:49 AM CST in Business,  World 

(Newser) – The weakening dollar has European aerospace giant Airbus in a tailspin that could be “life-threatening,” CEO Tom Enders said yesterday, the Financial Times reports, adding that the exchange rate has “gone beyond the pain barrier.” Airbus said every 10-cent decline in the dollar cost the company €1 billion. The dollar reached a low of $1.4873 against the euro this week.

Airbus, already shedding 10,000 employees and selling plants as part of a restructuring, also said it would drop a planned 25% increase in R&D. The company and unions are hoping European governments will act to slow the strengthening euro, which is giving rival Boeing an advantage over the embattled company. French President Nicolas Sarkozy is calling for a “fairer exchange rate.”

Source Financial Times (UK)

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EADS co-CEO Tom Enders gestures outside Airbus headquarters, in Toulouse, southwestern France, Monday, July 16, 2007.   (Associated Press)
France's President Nicolas Sarkozy wants a "fairer exchange rate" for the dollar.   (Associated Press)
Airbus CEO Tom Enders.   (Getty Images (by Event))
An Air Canada Jazz Dash 8 rolls (rear) by an Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger plane, parked at Pierre Trudeau Airport in Montreal Monday, Nov. 12, 2007.   (Associated Press)
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