Air France is preparing a voluntary redundancy plan involving more than 8000 posts

in Early may, the director general of Air France-KLM, Ben Smith, did not go by four paths. "Air France will begin talks with its unions about a possible reduction of its workforce," he explained, drawing the consequences of the health crisis that has dealt a blow shift to air transport. There was talk at the time of several thousands of job cuts without more details. The company also stated its desire not to resort to compulsory redundancies. Instead, it would focus on voluntary redundancies favoured by the population pyramid, a number of the 45,000 employees of the company habs approaching the age of retirement.

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Since then, Air France has worked hard to define the contours of this restructuring. The work is not completed : the plan of job cuts will be presented to the economic and social Committee (ESC) at the beginning of July. Nevertheless, the company sees more clearly. According to Bloomberg, at this stage, Air France would remove 8300 posts. Contacted, the company did not wish to comment on this information. But a source internal to the group has confirmed.

At first sight, Air France will type less strong than its european competitors : Lufthansa has announced the elimination of 22,000 jobs, British Airways wants to thank 12,000 employees. In fact, parting with more than 8000 employees returned to the company habs to reduce 18 % of its workforce, against 16 % for Lufthansa. "In 25 years of career in the company, I have never known a plan of job cuts as massive ", says Jérôme Beaurain, a member of the bureau of South-to-Air and Air France.

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in Accordance with the guidance set out in early may, the company will not proceed with forced redundancies. It will use formulas to voluntary departures, as recalled by Wednesday, Jean-Baptiste Djebbari. "It will be without suffering social, in a concerted manner ", explained the secretary of State for Transport. On the other hand, a lot of trades will be affected by this restructuring. Drivers first : 400 are expected to leave the company. The stewardesses and stewards are also in the viewfinder with over 2000 departures expected.

But what are the personal on the ground, which would pay the heaviest price, with nearly 6000 job cuts. Half of the jobs expected to disappear would be in support functions (quality, human resources, sustainable development...). The other half is working in the French airports (personnel, boarding agents, track...). These cuts to the personal stopover are a result of the reorganization of the activity, short-haul, very onerous. With the abolition of regional lines. Or the recovery by Transavia, the subsidiary low-cost airline of Air France, the flights operated by the parent or by Hop, another of its subsidiaries.

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About the terms of departure, they will be different according to the categories of personal. Pilots, air hostesses and stewards will start in the framework of a contractual termination collective, a mechanism put in place by the orders Macron. Air France chooses this formula more flexible because it does not recruit fast enough after.

Redundancy structural floor

However, the company believes that, once past the bulk of the crisis, in a year or two, she might need to hire pilots and flight crew commercial. With the drivers, the negotiations on the conditions of departure are almost finished. Those relating to the hostesses and stewards are a little less advanced.

For staff on the ground, no question of passing through a rupture in the conventional group. The company will put in place a voluntary redundancy plan, which makes it more complicated to recruitment in the short term. This falls well : Air France estimates that it has a redundancy structural soil. Still, this slimming down of workforces, which shall also go through retirements, non-offset, is a high-risk. "Air France is in his sixth plan of departure in the business-short-haul argues Jérôme Beaurain. There will not be enough of a candidate at the start. What will happen then ? "

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Date Of Update: 18 June 2020, 00:47