Air France negotiating more job cuts -Le Figaro

PARIS (Reuters) – Air France is negotiating further job cuts with trade unions, Le Figaro reported on Thursday, having already culled thousands of positions through voluntary departures over the past two years.

France’s flagship carrier is in talks to shed nearly 300 ground-staff positions through voluntary redundancies at French airports serving domestic flights, including Paris Orly and Marseille, the paper reported.

The airline hope to finalise negotiations by the end of July, it added.

An Air France spokesman declined to comment.

Under Chief Executive Ben Smith, who joined from Air Canada in 2018, Air France-KLM has sought to cut costs, improve French labour relations and overcome governance squabbles between France and the Netherlands, each shareholders in the company.

In 2020, with air travel hammered by COVID-19, Air France said it was cutting 7,500 jobs over two years, including 1,000 at sister airline HOP!.

Le Figaro said the job cuts now under discussion were an additional measure.

(Richard by Richard Lough; editing by Jonathan Oatis)