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Talks stall over future of troubled Airbus military plane

Talks in Berlin on the troubled Airbus A400M military transport plane ended without a breakthrough on Friday but the parties still aim to reach an agreement by January 31, Germany said.

Published: 22 January 2010 12:57 CET

Talks stall over future of troubled Airbus military plane

Photo: DPA

The talks on Thursday and Friday among representatives from seven NATO powers that have ordered the aircraft and Airbus parent EADS were conducted in a “constructive atmosphere,” defence ministry spokesman Christian Dienst said.

“The countries and EADS are to meet again soon with the goal of reaching a solution acceptable to all by the end of January,” Dienst told a regular government briefing in Berlin.

The seven countries have ordered 180 of the aircraft for €20 billion ($28 billion) from European plane maker Airbus but the project is three years behind schedule and a reported €11 billion over budget.

Airbus has threatened to pull the plug unless the seven – Germany, France, Spain, Britain, Belgium, Luxembourg and Turkey – stump up more cash, warning that the fate of the European aerospace giant depended on the project.

France has said it is ready to pay more, as long as others follow suit, but Germany is seen as more reluctant. Berlin has ordered 60 of the aircraft and France 50, and are the two biggest customers.

“We stand by the A400M, but not at any price,” Dienst said.

French business daily La Tribune cited an unidentified source on its website as saying the programme needs an extra €5.2 billion and that EADS in Berlin had offered to provide €800 million of this. Contacted by AFP, EADS declined to comment on the report.

Airbus has 52,000 employees around Europe, with about 10,000 working on the A400M, a state-of-the-art new aircraft that can carry troops, armoured vehicles and helicopters which would replace Europe’s ageing fleet of transport planes.

The date of location of the next round of talks was under discussion, Dienst said.

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Which Bavaria-based companies regularly hire English speakers?

Munich ranks third in German cities with the highest total GDP, behind Berlin and Hamburg, but in terms of GDP per capita, it’s higher than both of them.

It also consistently ranks high, often highest, in terms of average household income.

As of 2023, nine of the 40 companies listed on DAX, Germany’s stock index, were based in Bavaria. Seven of those are based specifically in Munich.

While Frankfurt is commonly known to be Germany’s business capital, Munich can claim the title of Germany’s insurance capital, which is saying something, as Germany is home to some of the largest insurance firms in the world, like Allianz.

Beyond the state’s capital city, a number of international companies are based elsewhere in Bavaria, particularly in the Franken region, near Nuremberg.

Which companies actively hire English speakers?

Bavaria, and Munich in particular, is home to a number of companies at the forefront of international business. But the state is known for its traditional, sometimes conservative, culture, which affects its business culture as well.

Whereas companies embracing English as their primary business language are easy to find in Berlin, the practice is less common in the south. That said, there are some notable exceptions.

Sportswear giants, Adidas and Puma, both have their headquarters near Nuremberg in Herzogenaurach, and regularly recruit English speaking international talent.

“As an international company, our teams reflect the rich diversity of our consumers and communities,” Jon Greenhalgh, Senior Manager Media Relations for Adidas told The Local. “Fostering a culture of inclusion where we value and leverage differences, ensures that we can authentically engage with our employees and truly connect with our consumers.”

He added that around 40 per cent of Adidas’ Germany-based employees are foreign nationals, from over 100 different countries.

Siemens and BMW rank among Bavaria’s top employers, and are also known to hire their fair share of foreigners.

“In Germany, we recently had around 2,000 open positions,” Konstanze Somborn told The Local on behalf of Siemens AG.

He added that Siemens operates in 190 countries. “That is why we value international teams very much…English as a common language is very usual.”

READ ALSO: ‘Which German companies want to hire foreigners?’

Similarly, BMW hires workers from a variety of backgrounds.

“Every year, we hire lots of internationals and welcome them to the BMW Group,” Dr. Hans-Peter Ketterl, a press spokesman for BMW Group told The Local.

But not all of these positions are available to non-German speakers.

Ketterl added that BMW’s working language is German in the country, even though, “English is an indispensable entry requirement as the second corporate language in many areas of the company.”

Check job boards and follow best practices

If it’s your first time applying for jobs in Germany, make sure to change your resume to the German format, even for English positions.

While Germany is home to its own job boards, like Xing, LinkedIn is probably the best place to start. In addition to searching for positions based in your preferred location, you can check relevant groups, like Munich Startups, to broaden your horizons.

The English Jobs in Germany website is also a good resource to start with.

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