Berlin has signalled it will fight to defend German jobs in the upcoming restructuring of troubled planemaker Airbus, threatening to cancel government contracts with EADS, the Franco-German parent company of Airbus, if it shifts production out of Germany.

German Economy Minister Michael Glos initially got nods of agreement from within Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling coalition government after he issued the warning in a newspaper interview over the weekend. But a government spokesman later distanced himself from Glos's comments.

Glos had told Sunday newspaper Bild am Sonntag: "We insist that Germany remain a high-tech location for Airbus, especially where the manufacture of fuselages is concerned. If that isn't the case, Germany would have to reconsider its weapons orders at Airbus parent company EADS. We will not put up with the planned cuts to jobs and high-tech know-how in Germany under any circumstances."

Government spokesman Thomas Steg, asked to comment on Merkel's position regarding Airbus, told a regular news conference on Monday: "We're clear what Germany's interests are, but we don't make threats."

The German government has expressed concern that Germany could be made to bear the brunt of a savings program at EADS, which has been hit by delays to the new Airbus A380 superjumbo.

Details of EADS's cost-cutting program are due to be presented to the company's workforce on Feb. 20. Unconfirmed media reports say Merkel is due to meet with Louis Gallois, the co-chief of EADS and head of Airbus, before he presents details of his savings plan.

The comments made by Glos, a conservative minister from Bavaria's Christian Social Union party, won cautious backing from Social Democratic Party (SPD) allies in the grand coalition. The economic policy spokesman of the SPD parliamentary group, Rainer Wend, told the Berliner Zeitung newspaper: "It's right that we forecefully defend Germany's interests as a production location. But it's also important that such talks take place confidentially and in a spirit of mutual trust."

SPD General Secretary Hubertus Heil told the ARD public television channel: "It's right and necessary to exert pressure, others are also doing so."

Thousands of jobs at stake

Unions fear EADS will axe up to 8,000 jobs in Germany, where the aircraft manufacturer employs about 22,300 people. Up to 8,000 supplier jobs are also believed to be under threat.

On Friday, more than 24,000 Airbus workers, suppliers and supporters staged protests to fight for the future of the planemaker's seven German plants.

France has a track record of exerting political influence to protect French jobs and industry. In 2004 France backed a successful takeover of Franco-German pharmaceuticals group Aventis by smaller French rival Sanofi and pushed through a rescue of engineering firm Alstom that prevented Germany's Siemens from acquiring a stake.

German media commentators have their doubts about whether Glos' threat will have any effect. Conservative Die Welt wrote on Monday: "The government doesn't have too many sensible alternatives for its defense contracts. Especially if it doesn't want to become completely dependent on the US defense industry for example.

"Nevertheless, Glos in uttering his provocative remark highlights a decisive aspect of the current Airbus debate: It shows once again that EADS is not a normal industrial company. Instead this multinational construction finds itself in a complex web of political tension.

"The German government is a major customer of EADs in the defense industry -- from the Eurofighter to the A400M military transport plane. That gives it the legitimate right to exert the same influence on the company's industrial structures as France quite naturally claims for itself."