Airbus could build plants in US, Russia

photo by mathoov

According to a story in the German business weekly WirtschaftsWoche, Airbus is considering building assembly plants in the US or Russia. This is due to the strong euro, which Airbus parent company EADS head Louis Gallois said is threatening the long-term existence of the company.

The story said that if a plant were built in the US, it would probably be in Mobile, Alabama - this is also important because the company has long been seeking a contract with the US military to build tanker airplanes. An Airbus official pointed out that if the company were to build the tankers in the US, it would be more difficult for the military to reject Airbus' offer because they are a European company.