- Title: Air France workers oppose job cuts
- Date: 3rd July 2020
- Summary: BOUGUENAIS, FRANCE (JULY 3, 2020) (REUTERS) WOODEN PALLETS BURNING IN FRONT OF AIR FRANCE'S FRENCH REGIONAL AIRLINE UNIT HOP! HEAD OFFICE WHERE HOP EMPLOYEES GATHERED BANNER READING (French): "Air France wants to kill us. Hop! to the trash." VARIOUS OF EMPLOYEES GATHERED TO PROTEST T-SHIRT READING (French): "Air France wants to kill us". (SOUNDBITE) (French) CFDT UNION REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVE AT HOP AIRLINE, ETIENNE GUENAT, SAYING: "All employees are going to be informed about the plan. Many families are going to feel affected because they are working in areas of employment where the aeronautics industry is going to disappear." ROISSY-EN-FRANCE, FRANCE (JULY 3,2020) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF AIR FRANCE EMPLOYEES GATHERED TO PROTEST IN FRONT OF AIR FRANCE HEADQUARTERS AIR FRANCE BANNER (SOUNDBITE) (French) 35 YEARS-OLD TECHNICIAN FOR AIR FRANCE-HOP AT ORLY AIRPORT, JULIEN FORT, SAYING: "The social impact is really huge. It means entire families are working for this company (Hop!). I am taking the example of Morlaix, the company is the second biggest employer in the city. Tomorrow, there are 300 employees who will lose their jobs there for Hop! but how much will be the repercussions for its subcontractors there, restoration and hotels in the city? It is an all part of the economic landscape has been disappearing in a small city.' PROTESTERS
- Embargoed: 17th July 2020 16:20
- Keywords: Air France jobs
- Location: BOUGENAIS, ROISSY-EN-FRANCE, FRANCE
- City: BOUGENAIS, ROISSY-EN-FRANCE, FRANCE
- Country: France
- Topics: Company News Markets,Economic Events
- Reuters ID: LVA001CL97UPZ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Air France union members and employees burned wooden pallets outside the headquarters in Bougenais on Friday (July 3) in protest over the airline's plans for around 7,500 job cuts to cope with a collapse in travel due to the coronavirus pandemic.
As executives met labor representatives, a small group of 100 union members and employees, from cleaning staff to check-in assistants, demonstrated outside the airline's base at Paris' Roissy airport, criticizing its plans to cut staff after receiving state aid to help the company to ride out the pandemic fallout.
At least half of the cuts are likely to entail voluntary departures and retirement plans, sources familiar with the matter said this week.
The bulk of layoffs will fall at Air France, but unions said just over 1,000 will hit its sister airline "HOP!," based in the eastern city of Nantes, where employees also erected banners in protest on Friday.
The French government - which granted Air France 7 billion euros ($7.87 billion) in aid, including state-backed loans, to help it to survive - has urged the airline to avoid compulsory layoffs, though it has conceded Air France was "on the edge."
(Production: Stephane Mahe, Emilie Delwarde, Yiming Woo) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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