BERLIN (AP) -- Airbus parent European Aeronautic Defence & Space NV is planning a new plant in southern Germany and a new subsidiary grouping several factories together as its restructuring moves ahead, a spokesman said Tuesday.
The new 180 million euro ($260 million) plant will produce fuselage parts for the A350 aircraft and will be built next to the current Airbus factory in the Bavarian city of Augsburg, EADS spokesman Markus Woelfle said. It is expected to open in 2011.
Meanwhile, EADS will form a new subsidiary called Premium Aerotech GmbH that will group together both Augsburg plants as well as those in Nordenham and Varel, Woelfle said.
Earlier this year, the company sold its Laupheim site as part of the so-called Power 8 restructuring program, aimed at cutting costs and boosting profitability after costly delays to the superjumbo A380 and the mid-size A350XWB. But it has been unable to sell the Airbus sites in Nordenham and Varel or the current EADS site in Augsburg, and the idea is to sell them as a package under the Premium Aerotech name in the future.
Premium Aerotech is expected to start operating early next year.
The new Airbus factory in Augsburg is expected to create hundreds of jobs, and will focus on new plastic and other lightweight building materials being used on the A350. The neighboring EADS plant builds parts for the EuroFighter and Airbus aircraft.