European aircraft maker Airbus lost its second chief executive in three months this evening after his plan to resolve delays to the A380 super-jumbo offended Germany and opened a rift with parent EADS.
In a statement ending days of speculation, the Franco-German aerospace group said chief executive Christian Streiff had resigned from Airbus with immediate effect and would be replaced by EADS's Louis Gallois.
The resignation plunged the group into fresh turmoil exactly 100 days after Mr Streiff was appointed with a mandate to put Airbus back on course after the turbulence caused by delays to its flagship project to rival Boeing's 747.
"I hope that (my resignation) will provide a salutary shock that forces a rethink about how Airbus is governed," Mr Streiff told France's Le Figaro newspaper.
Mr Gallois used to run France's Aerospatiale, one of the groups that were folded into a merged EADS in 2000. He will retain his role at EADS, where he is co-chief executive alongside Tom Enders, EADS said in a statement.
"The new management structure will allow a leaner more efficient corporate governance and additional cost savings within the EADS group," it said.
An industry source who closely watches EADS said Mr Streiff's position had become untenable after he exposed deep flaws in Airbus's industrial methods and raised the prospect of sensitive job cuts without adequate political cover.
Germany responded icily to his plans, especially to suggestions Airbus teams in Hamburg were responsible for the wiring installation faults that have pushed the A380 two years behind schedule because of obsolete design software.
Mr Streiff described the Hamburg plant as "the weakest link" in the A380 production process.
Germany could bear the brunt of any factory reorganisation since 10 out of the 16 Airbus European plants are based there.