Air France officials nearly lynched over planned job cuts
Print Edition
AIR France-KLM’s human resources manager had his shirt stripped from him as he was “almost lynched” yesterday by workers protesting a plan to cut 2,900 jobs from the struggling airline.
Bosses were unveiling a revamped restructuring plan after pilots rejected an earlier proposal to work longer hours. But the board meeting was cut short when hundreds of striking workers stormed into the airline’s headquarters in Roissy, outside Paris.
Human resources manager Xavier Broseta “was almost lynched,” according to one union delegate, and had his shirt ripped off as he clambered over barriers to escape, helped by security guards.
CEO Frederic Gagey also made a hasty exit, and the board said the meeting would not resume yesterday.
The management condemned the “physical violence,” and said it would file complaints to the police.
Transport Minister Alain Vidalies said the violence was unacceptable. “They do nothing to advance the search for a solution for Air France,” he said in a statement.
The loss-making airline, which is Europe's largest in terms of traffic and employs 52,000 people, is struggling in the face of fierce competition from global rivals.
It had tried to convince pilots, who earn up to 250,000 euros (US$280,000) a year, to fly 100 more hours annually for the same salary, but talks broke down last week with pilots saying the plan amounted to an effective pay cut.
The French government, which owns a 17.6-percent stake, has criticized the pilots, with Prime Minister Manuel Valls denouncing their “hard-line” attitude.
“If Air France does not evolve then it puts itself in danger,” Valls said at the weekend.
Four unions announced a strike to coincide with yesterday’s meeting. It was not clear how many staff were taking part, but the airline said flights would be unaffected beyond some check-in delays. Not all staff support the pilots, who also led a record-long strike a year ago that cost the company nearly half a billion euros.
“Ground staff, stewards and hostesses feel they have made enormous efforts without ending up in a position to influence decisions,” Beatrice Lestic, of the CFDT union, told Le Parisien newspaper.
“They are now spectators to a crash in which they will be the first victims,” she said.
Seeking to sharpen its competitive edge against main European rivals Lufthansa and British Airways-Iberia, the management’s new proposals include ending five long-haul routes, reducing the frequency of other flights, and selling 14 planes over the next two years.
Although the company says it favors voluntary departures, Gagey has indicated compulsory redundancies may be necessary for the first time, “otherwise we would not make hoped-for progress in terms of productivity.”
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