Air France Sacks Employees After Violent Protest

Air France has reportedly sacked four employees following violent protests at the airline’s headquarters in October.

A fifth worker, accused of serious misconduct for assaulting managers, is subject to a separate procedure because he is a union representative.

Workers were protesting against mass job cuts when two managers’ shirts were ripped and one was forced to escape over a fence. Several others were injured.

Hundreds of workers were protesting against plans to cut 2,900 jobs, increase pilots’ working hours and reduce the size of the fleet, all designed to cut costs by €1.8 billion over two years.

Two managers in particular were targeted – human resources manager Xavier Broseta and senior official Pierre Plissonnier.

They were taking part in a works council meeting about the proposed cuts when hundreds of workers stormed into the Air France headquarters.

Seven people were injured in the scuffles, including a security guard who was knocked unconscious.

The five workers, along with another colleague, are due to appear in court on December 2 to face criminal charges in connection with the violence.

Air France said a further 11 staff had been suspended for two weeks without pay for breaking into the company’s headquarters, Reuters reported.

The carrier reduced the number of jobs it planned to cut to fewer than 1,000 following the protests.

The next Air France works council meeting is on November 19. Unions have called for industrial action on that date in protest against the disciplinary measures.

Source: Travel Weekly