AFTER ALL, WHEN HAVE NATIONALISM AND SOCIALISM EVER FAILED THE GERMANS?:

Labor Unrest and Nationalism Hit Airbus: The airplane maker is hearing warnings from labor and politicians that its cost-cutting plans could provoke trouble (Carol Matlack, 2/07/07, Business Week)

Could the European Aeronautics Defence & Space Co. (EADS) be headed for more turbulence from its troubled Airbus subsidiary? As Airbus prepares a plan to slash billions in operating costs, German politicians and labor unions are already warning that big cuts in the plane maker's German payroll could provoke disruptive labor protests and even the possible loss of German defense contracts.

Economics Minister Michael Glos said on Feb. 4 that Berlin would "review" its defense contracts with EADS if Airbus's German factories bore a disproportionate share of job losses. Ministry officials later tried to downplay the warning, saying the government was "not making any threats." Still, German newspapers reported that Chancellor Angela Merkel would meet soon with Louis Gallois, the EADS co-chief executive who also runs Airbus.

More worrisome for EADS is the possibility that strikes or slowdowns could disrupt Airbus assembly lines. On Feb. 2, as thousands of workers took part in protests at Airbus's German factories, a representative of the IG Metall union warned that labor disruptions could force the company "to revise its delivery schedules for 2007."
"In a Fragile State"

That would be a nightmare scenario for Airbus. Germany accounts for 50% of production of Airbus's best-selling A320 aircraft family--a critical source of cash flow as Airbus struggles to recover from costly delays on its A380 megaplane while raising money to build the new A350 to counter Boeing's (BA) 787 Dreamliner.