Airbus CEO resigns, new chief named

After just 100 days as chief executive of the ailing plane maker Airbus, Christian Streiff resigned on Monday and parent company EADS named Louis Gllois, one of its own co-CEOs, to replace him.

"EADS announced the resignation of Christian Streiff ... and named Louis Gallois as CEO of Airbus, with immediate effect," the European aeronautic group said in a statement on Monday, putting an end to these days' media suspicion about the company's power change.

The shakeup followed last week's announcement of further delays to the A380 superjumbo program, which is now nearly two years behind schedule, saddling EADS with a future cash shortfall of 6.3 billion euros (8.0 billion U.S. dollars).

Streiff stepped in Airbus in July to turn the troubled company around after delivery delays emerged in the A380 program.

However, he was never comfortable in his relationship with EADS. Ten days ago, Streiff presented the findings of an internal Airbus audit to the EADS board and outlined his restructuring plan, which was not formally approved.

Gallois, a Frenchman who is co-chairman of the European Aeronautic Defense and Space company (EADS), would take over at Airbus while retaining his post with the parent group.

"The new structure will allow for simpler and more effective management," the statement said.

EADS shares were down 1.32 percent at 20.16 euros (25 U.S. dollars) at the end of trading in Paris on Monday.

Source: Xinhua