Planes nailed to the ground, staff largely in partial unemployment ... The shock was unprecedented for Air France, which would prepare to abolish jobs, like its international rivals who have chained in recent weeks the announcements of clear cuts in their workforce: 22,000 at the German group Lufthansa, 12,000 at British Airways or 10,000 for the American Delta Air Lines.
In this context, the French State, shareholder of Air France-KLM, provided financial support of 7 billion euros, including 4 billion guaranteed bank loans and 3 billion direct loan, asking the group to improve its profitability and its environmental impact.
"Binding measures" linked to the State loan
In response, the director general of Air France-KLM Benjamin Smith announced in late May the reduction of the French network (loss-making) by 40% by the end of 2021. Destinations departing from Orly with a rail alternative less than 2.5 hours, like Lyon, Nantes or Bordeaux, are threatened. Certain cross-country routes - from region to region - which are very short, provided by the regional subsidiary Hop !, could also be eliminated.
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Christophe Malloggi of FO Air France denounces "restrictive employment measures" linked to the State loan and considers that "the government has a role to play". He is particularly concerned for employees "in the provinces where the employment areas are already affected" and who will have more difficulty accepting mobility within the company.
Short-haul and support functions
After an Air France board of directors scheduled for Monday, management will present to union organizations on Friday an updated version of the provisional management of employment and skills (GPEC), during an extraordinary central social and economic committee (CSEC) at headquarters, in Roissy. The same day will take place an extraordinary CSE at Hop !. The announcements will be made more precise during CSE of establishments the following week. "We are ready to enter into negotiations for the good of the company" but "the management will have to hear us on certain points," Farid Slimani, of Unsa Aérien, told AFP.
The management of Air France refused to comment on the figure of 8,000 to 10,000 job cuts in the group which circulated in the press. According to the unions interviewed by AFP, several thousand jobs are in any case threatened within Air France and Hop !, while the low-cost Transavia, also in the group, could be entrusted with short- mail.
Redundancies on a voluntary basis
The layoffs must be carried out on a voluntary basis, in the form of collective agreement ruptures (RCC) for cabin crew and a voluntary departure plan (PDV) of a scope still unknown for staff in ground, from concordant sources.
The SNPL, the majority union for Air France pilots, has validated an RCC agreement providing for the voluntary departure by the end of 2020 of a maximum of 403 pilots, or almost 10% of the pilot workforce. This is the first RCC at Air France. Another is still being negotiated for hostesses and stewards, for whom the overstaffing is estimated at around 1,700 positions. On the ground, part of the jobs in support functions, such as administrative services, should be targeted.
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At Hop !, Joël Rondel, secretary of the CSE, fears the elimination of about half of the 2,700 current positions. "If there are not enough volunteers, what will happen?" He wonders, saying to himself "convinced that at some point, there will be dry layoffs ".
At the end of 2019, the Air France group had more than 55,000 employees on fixed-term and fixed-term contracts, including almost 49,000 for the only French company. The latter has experienced twelve voluntary departure plans over the past ten years and, according to the unions, has lost 15,000 jobs since 2008.