New York Times
Airbus Moves to Rewire Its Management First
This article addresses the issues that Airbus, a European airplane manufacturing company,
is facing in the midst of the worst management crisis of its history. The company, which
was formed in 1970 jointly by France and Germany to compete with American rival
Boeing, is experiencing production difficulties that are preventing Airbus from releasing
the model A380 plane into service on schedule. The main technical problem lies in both
defective wiring and incompatible software between the Hamburg and Toulouse sites.
However, the real issue is the inability of the company management to fix the mechanical
problem at hand that is delaying the release of the A380 model. The article implies that
under competent management, the problem could be fixed rather easily, but Airbus is still
trying to fill the CEO position with someone who is capable of returning the company to a
profitable status. Recently, the head of Airbus resigned after a shaky start, but the parent
company of Airbus, the European Aeronautic Defense and Space (EADS) Company, has
appointed one of its chief executives, Louis Gallois, to head Airbus. Mr. Gallois is a
highly-experienced businessman, and by designating him to head Airbus, EADS is hoping
to pull the company out of its management catastrophe.
Although placing a seasoned businessman such as Mr. Gallois at the top of Airbus will
hopefully help the company recover some of its lost profitability, in order to understand the
problems management is having at Airbus, several issues need to be considered. The most
