Lower Saxony makes Airbus aid threat - magazine

FRANKFURT, May 17 (Reuters) - The premier of German state Lower Saxony has threatened to withhold subsidies for a new Airbus unit unless its headquarters is set up in northern Germany, a magazine reported.

The issue centres on the site for German Aerostructures Co (GAC), a new holding company for three German Airbus plants that parent EADS (EAD.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) has struggled to sell, WirtschaftsWoche reported on Saturday.

In a letter to Airbus Chief Executive Tom Enders, state Premier Christian Wulff said GAC should be based in Hamburg and employ more than 200 people if it expected to get state aid for spending on research and investment.

"The state government and all of northern Germany can accept and politically support the company's new structure only if the weighting of civil aviation does not shift between the South and North," it cited the letter as saying.

It pointed out that southern Germany has traditionally been responsible for military aircraft and northern Germany for civil aviation.

Talks by Airbus to sell the three German plants to MT Aerospace (OHBG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) broke down last month, followed by the collapse this month of plans to sell two French factories to a supplier.

No one at the state government was immediately available for comment. (Reporting by Michael Shields) (michael.shields@thomsonreuters.com, Reuters Messaging: michael.shields.reuters.com@reuters.net; +49 69 7565 1266))