Airbus dismisses 16 employees linked to alleged industrial espionage

Airbus has dismissed 16 employees suspected of industrial espionage.

Report informs citing Reuters that the employees were fired for the potential misuse of client documents.

Munich prosecutors launched the investigation in September after the company notified the authorities about potential irregularities involving the documents. In particular, they are suspected of taking hold of information about two Bundeswehr programs on purchase of equipment related to telecommunication systems, intelligence and security. Several Airbus employees got access to classified documents on these two programs, involving details of the equipment to be purchased by Bundeswehr. "Some of our employees got access to the classified documents," a source in the company said.