PARIS (AP) -- Airbus says a top executive in charge of engineering and manufacturing for the European aircraft maker is to be replaced by an as yet unnamed successor early next year.
Airbus said Monday that Gerald Weber, executive vice president for operations, will leave in March 2011. His replacement has been identified outside of Airbus' parent company EADS NV and will be appointed at the beginning of 2011.
In a statement Weber said, "Seeing a lot of positive and tangible results of nearly four years of intensive work, I feel it is time for me to move on." Airbus' A380 superjumbo and A350XWB long-range, mid-sized jet programs have faced years of set backs and manufacturing difficulties but there was no indication that played a role in Weber's departure.
Weber, 61, is a German who joined Airbus in 2007 from the truck making division of DaimlerChrysler AG.
