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.
โWeโve 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.
โAltogether, 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 carrierโs 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 โthe 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.