The European aircraft manufacturer Airbus has largely surpassed its 2007 cost-cutting target and could end the year with savings of as much as €400m, the French newspaper Les Echos has reported.
An Airbus spokeswoman refused to comment on the report ahead of the company's annual press conference on January 16.
The paper said the €300m target will be easily eclipsed, with cuts totalling €400m still possible.
Of the 10,000 jobs to be cut in the next four years, part of a sweeping re-structuring following costly delays to the A380 superjumbo program, around 3,000 have already been carried out through 'natural' departures, the paper said.
While Airbus is still likely to post a deficit in 2007, its free cash flow should be healthy, contrary to initial forecasts, thanks to record aircraft sales, according to Les Echos.
