* Says loan talks with four governments going well
* Confirms Spain to get 10 percent of work on next A350 jet
* CEO says 2 more hard years; production to be cut if needed
(Adds quotes, details, Boeing comment)
By Tim Hepher and Matthias Blamont
PARIS, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Airbus said on Friday it was making progress on securing European loans for its next generation of passenger jet as its top executive warned of two more tough years for the world's largest civil planemaker.
The loans are likely to include more money from Spain, the smallest of four national production partners in Airbus, whose government said it was examining what funds to give.
"Spain is committed to the future of Airbus and if that means contributing aid, it is being studied," an industry ministry spokesman said in Madrid. "But we haven't closed any figures or taken any definitive decision."
French newspaper La Tribune reported that Spain was ready to lend 300 million euros to the EADS subsidiary as its share of loan funding.
Airbus was provisionally offered 340 million pounds in loans by Britain last month and is also negotiating with France and Germany for advances on part of the 11 billion euro estimated cost of building its next passenger jet, the mid-size A350.
"The talks with the (four) governments are proceeding well," Airbus spokesman Stefan Schaffrath said.
Sources familiar with the matter said Airbus had also finalised a shake-up of its European industrial network, which will see thousands of extra jobs created in Spain by doubling that country's share of aircraft production to 10 percent with work on the A350.
Airbus confirmed the figure but denied any link between workshare allocations and the availability of government loans.
The system of government loans has been attacked by the United States and it filed a complaint at the World Trade Organization. Previous loans drew criticism in a confidential draft verdict from the World Trade Organisation (WTO), according to sources close to the case.
The United States says the European loan system penalises its workers and is no longer necessary to prop up Airbus, which has overtaken Boeing as the world's largest jetmaker.
"Today Airbus and parent EADS have a bank balance of more than 8 billion euros," Boeing spokesman Charlie Miller said.
"They have no need for financial support from the taxpayer and should finance aircraft development with their own cash and commercial loans."
Airbus has denied the loans are given on preferential terms.
The European Union has said the WTO case on past loans does not apply to the A350 but the United States says reverting to the same pattern of funding could aggravate the WTO's largest ever trade dispute.
The EU has countered with a complaint at the WTO over Boeing research deals.
TRADE-OFF
Airbus has said that roughly half of its 55,000 workforce would have a role of some kind in the A350 project. It employs some 3,000 civil aircraft workers in Spain where tail sections are made.
Germany will lose 3 to 4 percent from previous production levels to 34 percent on the A350, said the sources familiar with the changes to Airbus's European industrial network. France will slightly boost its share to 38 percent and assemble the A350.
This is part of a previously agreed trade-off that will ultimately result in a larger German role in the next generation of Airbus's top-selling model, the single-aisle A320.
The assembly line for the next single-aisle model, codenamed A3OX and likely to be developed starting late in the next decade, will be in Hamburg rather than split between Hamburg and Toulouse.
Airbus Chief Executive Tom Enders said in remarks published in the Wall Street Journal on Friday that the EADS subsidiary faced two further "difficult" years and did not rule out making further production cuts if necessary to adjust to demand.
Airbus last year suspended plans to increase production of its top-selling single-aisle, A320-family jets to 40 planes a month and in February this year it decided to cut back production to 34 a month from 36 a month from October 2009.
It also froze A330/A340 production at 8.5 aircraft a month.
Airbus delivered an average of 32.75 A320-family jets a month between January and August.
Some airlines have cancelled orders and Airbus sales chief John Leahy warned on Thursday of further cancellations over the winter. However, Airbus said it was still on track to reach its goal of matching last year's record deliveries of 483 planes. (Editing by Karen Foster)