FRANKFURT, July 23, 2008 (AFP) - An agreement has been reached guaranteeing jobs at an Airbus plant in the southern German city of Laupheim being sold to equipment maker Diehl, a Diehl spokesman told AFP on Wednesday.

The accord ensures employment until 2012 for the 1,100 full-time staff, the spokesman said, while 300 temporary workers were sure of keeping their jobs until mid 2009, he added.

It represented 'an important step' towards the sale of the site, the Diehl representative said, adding that he hoped the deal would be signed soon.

According to the regional newspaper Schwaebische Zeitung, Diehl could take over the facility on October 1, a date the spokesman declined to confirm.

In late May, Airbus had selected Diehl and the French company Thales to buy the plant which is specialised in aircraft cabin interiors.