Did you read the article? It's as much if not more for economic reasons: Airbus realized that it could get more lucrative US military contracts by having local

Did you read the article? It's as much if not more for economic reasons: Airbus realized that it could get more lucrative US military contracts by having local bases and chose factory locations partly for historical trends (of having facilities serving military-industrial complex) as well as other factors like lower cost and tax subsidies from choosen locations.