Airbus technology head Eremenko to leave, join UTC: sources - Reuters

PARIS (Reuters) - Airbus’ technology head Paul Eremenko is to leave and join rival United Technologies Corp (UTC), two sources said on Thursday, as Airbus overhauls its top management to fight back against rival Boeing.

An Airbus spokesman declined to comment on the reports of Eremenko’s departure, which first appeared in La Tribune newspaper. Officials at UTC could not immediately be reached for comment.

One of the two sources said Eremenko was leaving for “personal reasons”.

Eremenko was hired from Google in 2015 with a mandate to foster innovation and import radical thinking from Silicon Valley - the company has long said digital technology will change the way aircraft are made.

He became Chief Technology Officer a year later but clashed with the technical leadership at Airbus, notably respected chief engineer Charles Champion, who is about to retire.

Airbus’ trade union officials told Reuters that Eremenko’s departure was likely, saying some of his decisions had angered staff.

The union officials blamed Eremenko for shutting down a site in Suresnes, near Paris, as he sought to modernize Airbus’ research and engineering practices.

“That really upset a lot of the teams,” said Francoise Vallin of Airbus’ CFE-CGC trade union, whose views on Eremenko’s unpopularity were echoed by Didier Hacquart from the CFDT trade union.

While French union officials do not usually receive advanced word on management changes, they do maintain wide networks within companies to ensure they are abreast of developments.

This week, Airbus hired the head of Rolls-Royce’s civil engines arm, Eric Schulz, lead its commercial aircraft sales, after months of uncertainty over who would replace veteran dealmaker John Leahy.

Additional reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Andrew Heavens

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