Gallois calls on EADS staff to hold steady against pressure 02/04/2008 00:00

Louis Gallois, chief executive of European aerospace giant EADS, has called on staff to hold steady as the company faces perhaps years of public scrutiny.

   PARIS, April 2, 2008 (AFP) - Louis Gallois, chief executive of European
aerospace giant EADS, has called on staff to hold steady as the company faces
perhaps years of public scrutiny following allegations of insider trading.
   "The procedures (on the insider trading charges) are likely to last years.
During this period, the company will be under intense media pressure," Gallois
said in an internal statement obtained by AFP on Tuesday.
   "We will have to cope with this pressure, ensuring that it causes the least
possible harm to the company," Gallois said.
   "That means that we have to keep calm, be patient and support each other,
and during this difficult period keep the company on course for progress."
   Gallois, who was not at the head of the company at the time of the alleged
insider trading, reaffirmed his "total confidence" in EADS management.
   Earlier Tuesday, French regulators said they had found evidence of insider
trading at EADS in late 2005 and early 2006 before it revealed delays over the
A380 superjumbo airliner built by its main arm Airbus which caused the stock
price to slump.
   They said there was cause for complaint against several people at EADS but
gave no names following an inquiry into share trades before EADS made public
in June 2006 that its Airbus A380 superjumbo would be delayed due to technical problems, sparking heavy selling of the stock.

AFP