Quoting Tim Clark
We are on the hook for this plane. I get pretty miffed when we have put so much at stake.
so either Airbus is trying to bluff their way to scare existing customers to buy more (or else...), or it was a gaffe of some financial beancounter who prematurely spilled his "what if" scenarios...a bit as if a pilot needlessly announces over the PA "we do plan for all eventualities, and we have plans ready to divert to other airports".
(thinking out loud, the analyst/shareholder/stock market/investor relations team at Airbus probably has a very different agenda to deal with than customer facing employees. I assume this statement wasn't cleared with the sales team, they're probably just as miffed as Tim Clark...)