The executive committees of EADS and Airbus will meet this week,

today and tomorrow respectively, to discuss the Zephyr plant sale programme. Sources told the French Sunday paper that Airbus will be forced to retain majority control of its German sites as no bidder is on the run. The powerful union IG Metall asks EADS to regroup these sites into a 100 %-owned subsidiary, a much likely scenario, said the sources. Hence, Airbus must now decide whether it sticks to its plans to sell off 60 % of two of its French sites to Latecoere. Last week, France’s FO and CGC unions urged Louis Gallois to respect “equity” between the sale programmes in France and Germany. An EADS spokesman said no decision will be announced this week and declined to comment on the press report. AFP (13/04), AFX (13/04), La Tribune, Le Figaro Economie, Les Echos, Le Journal du Dimanche (13/04)