New EADS shake-up

A senior executive at European aerospace firm EADS has resigned, exposing a tussle over the 25-billion-euro revenue powerhouse at subsidiary Airbus days before a showdown for plane orders with Boeing.

EADS strategy chief Jean-Paul Gut said he was resigning in a dispute with the company's top officials over his efforts to integrate sales, marketing and strategy-combining his role with sales responsibilities jealously guarded by EADS units.

EADS said Mr Gut would be replaced on October 1 by Marwan Lahoud, 41, head of missiles maker MBDA in which EADS holds a stake with Britain's BAE Systems and Italy's Finmeccanica.

Coming one week before the Paris Air Show, Mr Gut's exit makes him the latest in a string of casualties at a group wrestling with restructuring and output delays at jetmaker Airbus and an insider trading probe, but which says recovery is in sight.