Massive job cuts at Air France and KLM

Air France-KLM might cut between 2,500 and 3,000 jobs in a bid to reduce costs, according to an Air France trade union leader

Air France-KLM might cut between 2,500 and 3,000 jobs in a bid to reduce costs, according to an Air France trade union leader

According to French media reports Air France-KLM is expected to lay off between 2,500 and 3,000 employees in a bid to slash costs, a trade union leader said Tuesday. The company is struggling to turn its business around amid a weak economy and competition from low-cost carriers.

The Franco-Dutch airline has posted losses in the second quarter as its medium-haul and cargo operations continued to suffer from the weak economy, and hopes to strengthen its position by paying down debt and reducing staff costs.

โ€œWeโ€™ve been hearing that 2,500 to 3,000 jobs will be cut,โ€ Didier Fauverte, leader of the Air France CGT trade union, said Tuesday.

โ€œAltogether, 10,000 jobs will have been lost over the past four years,โ€ he added.

An Air France spokesman refused to confirm the figure.

The group said last Friday it had lost 163 million euros ($215 million) in the second quarter, compared with an 897-million-euro loss a year earlier, when accounts were hammered by the cost of a plan to shed about 10 percent of the carrierโ€™s workforce.

Revenue stagnated in the second quarter as slightly higher passenger traffic was offset by lower revenue per passenger.

Air France-KLM is struggling to compete against low-cost carriers and has said its three-year turnaround plan is on track despite โ€œthe persistently touch economic environment.โ€

A meeting with staff will take place on Wednesday to discuss the required number of job reductions, which are expected to come into effect early 2014.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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