Air France-KLM to propose 400 ground layoffs: La Tribune

PARIS – Air France-KLM will launch a voluntary layoff plan that would affect nearly 400 ground workers at French airports, La Tribune said Saturday, a day after the airline recorded a larger loss in the first quarter .

The French-Dutch company, which attributed the operating loss of 303 million euros (339 million euros) to rising fuel costs and price competition, will present the plan dismissal at a union and management meeting on May 13, announced on its website La Tribune.

200 other departing personnel would not be replaced, he added.

A spokesman for Air France confirmed that a voluntary plan to reduce short-haul ground staff would be presented on May 13, but declined to give details of the proposals before the meeting.

He also said that a review of the company had highlighted the need to hire more than 1,000 people in all of the company's business this year.

Air France-KLM outperformed its rivals Lufthansa and British Airways (owned by Intercontinental Airlines) profitability, hampered by the restrictive agreements reached by the French unions and the strike that had destroyed last year 335 million euros. euros from his profits and forced his previous director.

Under the leadership of Ben Smith, who joined Air Canada last September, the airline was looking to improve its efficiency partly through better coordination of the Air France and KLM networks, but its task is complicated by the arrival of the government. Dutch as the largest shareholder preserve the autonomy of KLM.