Vows To Help Airbus Sort Out A380 Issues

After being the target of public and legal accusations for the past two weeks stemming from his questionable sale of Airbus stock, EADS co-CEO Noel Forgeard fired back Wednesday at those who want to see him ousted from the post.

In a closed-door parliamentary hearing before French lawmakers over charges of insider trading, Forgeard (right) vowed to stay on at EADS... and help its Airbus subsidiary through its current crisis.

Forgeard's vow came as rumors the German side of the European defense consortium wants Forgeard out are growing louder, even as other managers at EADS say those rumors are nothing more than an attempt to undermine the partnership between the two countries.

"In response to our German friends, some of whom are demanding his resignation, CEO Forgeard responded very calmly that resigning was out of the question, given his past (experience) and the service he can offer," said Pierre Mehaignerie, the governing UMP party lawmaker who heads the parliament's financial affairs committee, to the Associated Press.

An anonymous source inside the two-hour hearings told the AP that Forgeard declared that his resignation was "out of the question," and that he defended a controversial sale of EADS stock that netted him $3.1 million just weeks before the Franco-German company went public with new delays to the Airbus A380 superjumbo.

FMI: www.eads.com