As the Eurozone economies begin to contract, companies are enacting an increasing number of cost-cutting measures, including outsourcing and offshoring, with Tunisia’s manufacturing sector an unexpected beneficiary. At a time when European companies are looking to reduce expenses, they are increasingly relying on North African countries such as Tunisia — with their large, educated workforces and cheaper operating costs — to supply technical expertise at a lower price. For some major European firms, such as the aerospace group EADS — the parent company of Airbus — this year marks the first time production has been expanded outside the Eurozone. As part of a restructuring plan that seeks to save one billion euros by 2012, Airbus announced in September 2008 that it would build a components factory in Tunisia. “We are planning to produce basic parts in Tunisia, while research and production of more sophisticated parts and composites will be in
