Angry Workers Storm Air France Meeting on Job Cuts
PARIS — Angry workers stormed Air France headquarters on Monday
as top managers were meeting to discuss plans to shed more than 2,900 jobs,
forcing two executives to flee over a fence and in the process ripping the
shirts from their backs. The violence at the Air France offices near
Charles de Gaulle Airport broke out shortly after 9:30 a.m. Officials,
including the chief executive officer, Frédéric Gagey, had informed the
company’s workers council that 900 flight attendants, 1,700 ground crew members
and 300 pilots could be laid off as the airline strives to return to
profitability.
The talks at the company, which is facing headwinds from an
economic downturn and competition from low-cost carriers, had been tense for
more than a year. While violence had not marred previous negotiations, the
protests Monday were the latest in a series of incidents in France in which workers
have held company bosses hostage or damaged property to make their point.
As the Air France executives detailed the latest
restructuring plan, union activists swarmed into the room, waving flags and
chanting protests, prompting Mr. Gagey to make a hasty exit. Air France’s chief of human resources, Xavier Broseta, and
another of the company’s executives, Pierre Plissonnier, were ushered outside. Television
footage showed the two men being jostled and enveloped by a large
crowd that broke open a locked fence to continue their pursuit.
Workers surrounded Mr. Broseta and tore his shirt off,
leaving him half naked as police officers helped him flee over a tall fence.
The police also hoisted Mr. Plissonnier over a fence to help him escape after
protesters ripped his shirt and suit jacket. In a statement, Air France condemned the violence “in the
strongest possible terms.” Nonetheless, the company said it was ready to resume
negotiations over layoffs, which it maintained were necessary because it had
proved “impossible to reach agreements for the implementation of productivity
measures leading to a lasting return to profitability.”
Air France has some of the highest labor costs of any
European airline in Europe, and has fought to compete with low-cost carriers
like EasyJet by investing more in low-cost subsidiaries, reducing flights and
closing unprofitable routes. The French government, which owns a 15.9 percent stake in
Air France, has pressured the company to limit layoffs, prompting the company
to seek to achieve staff reductions through voluntary departures, early
retirements, attrition and reduced working hours.
But in the absence of a deal with Air France’s high-paid
pilots, who have been asked to work longer hours for the same pay to help stem
financial losses, Air France announced last week it would resort to cutting
jobs, a plan managers were reaffirming Monday.
