German Chancellor Merkel will oppose the move of Airbus A 380 production from Hamburg to Toulouse, according to ($link) the Wall Street Journal. Politics may prevent a logical part of the restructuring I described yesterday as a battle for the survival of the company.  The Journal comments, ...such economic logic doesn't hold up; if anything, the A320 line [being moved to Hamburg] appears to have a surer future than the A380 at this point. Even if protecting jobs were a valid reason for government meddling, preventing Airbus from taking the necessary steps to set things right will jeopardize more jobs in the long run than it will save in the short run. States, which are largely undisciplined by market thinking, do not want to admit they are wrong. And they especially want to avoid imposing costs on their constituents. There is a huge and visible human cost in such a big restructuring, with some fired, others maybe hired, and a large group of losers. Meanwhile, the future...(Read Full Post)