Air France to slash jobs and flights after union talks fail
http://www.france24.com/en/20151002-air-france-slash-jobs-flights-after-union-talks-fail
Air France to slash jobs and flights after union talks fail
Latest update : 2015-10-02
Air France is set to slash thousands of jobs and scale back long-haul flights as part of a vast cost-cutting programme after it failed to reach an agreement with its pilots over an increase of their working hours, its board announced Thursday.
The cutbacks will include a reduction of activity by Air France in 2016 and 2017, in order to guarantee the economic objectives and the company's future, the board said in a statement, with the full details to be presented to the airlines central committee Monday.
The airline, part of the Franco-Dutch Air France-KLM group, has previously said it may have to scrap 10 percent of its long-haul network by 2017 as part of the cost-cutting exercise, something unions have estimated will see around 4,000 jobs axed.
The decision by Air France to enact its Plan B restructuring programme followed months of fraught negotiations between the airline and its pilots, who last year waged the longest strike in the company's history.