Air France execs forced to flee after union protesters storm HQ meeting
Several Air France executives had to flee a meeting about mass job cuts after union protesters stormed the company's headquarters, according to multiple media reports from the scene.
The Assocated Press reports one of its photographers witnessed "about a hundred activists rush the building" after they broke through a gate. "Shortly afterward two high-level managers fled, one bare-chested and the other with his shirt and suit jacket shredded," AP adds.
Air France had intended to outline a plan to eliminate 2,900 jobs in the meeting with union representatives, according to French media. The airline said it would encourage voluntary departures but would resort to layoffs if incentive packages didn't prompt enough workers to leave. The Wall Street Journal writes "the firings would be the first … since the mid-1990s" at Air France, which also is reportedly looking to reduce its long-haul flying as it faces increased competition both in Europe from low-cost carriers and in long-haul markets from the so-called "Gulf carriers" of the Middle East.
Air France intends to eliminate about 300 pilot positions, about 900 flight attendant positions and about 1,700 ground workers, union officials tell The Telegraph of London.
Since a 1993 effort to lay off workers led to the ouster of then-CEO Bernard Attali, Air France has since turned to "attrition and early retirement packages to reduce the payroll," Bloomberg News writes.
But it's the renewed possibility of layoffs this year that apparently set off Monday's clash.
AP writes that "although Monday's scuffle was unusually violent, labor relations in France are commonly testy, with unions sometimes even resorting to holding managers hostage — or 'boss-napping' — to make a point."
Air France parent company Air France-KLM said it planned legal action regarding the "aggravated violence" carried out against its managers Monday.
"This violence was carried out by particularly violent, isolated individuals, whereas the protest by striking personnel was taking place calmly up until then," an Air France-KLM spokesman said to Reuters.