the repercussions of the economic crisis linked to the sars coronavirus promise to be severe in Air France. Several union sources have indicated to the Agency France-Presse that the management of Air France should announce the removal, on a voluntary basis, several thousands of jobs. According to the daily newspaper Les Echos, "the reconstruction plan, from Air France (...) should count from 8 000 to 10 000 job losses, or 15 % to 20% of the manpower group". In February, before the confinement, Air France had already introduced a forward-looking management of employment and competencies (GPEC), which provided for the removal (via departures not replaced and mainly in the ground staff) 1 510 stations by the end of 2022.
also Read Why Air France is speeding up the withdrawal of the Airbus A380
The air group needs to review this GPEC including an updated version must be submitted to the trade union organizations at the end of June or beginning of July with deletions of positions to a horizon closer. For the ground staff, the job cuts have to go through a voluntary redundancy plan, said several sources, confirming information of the Echos on Wednesday. The pilots and the cabin crew (hostesses and stewards) are negotiating on either side of a break in the conventional collective (RCC), a device recently which would be used for the first time in the group. It presents to the employer the advantage of being able to be re-employed soon after in the event of a resumption of air transport, in contrast to the voluntary redundancy plan.
Read also The fear of the vacuum for Airbus and its 12 000 sub-contractors
No comments on the part of the branch
"For the moment, nothing is confirmed," says Wilhelm Schmid, vice-president of the SNPL Air France-Transavia, the majority view among the drivers. "The pilots of Air France, we are discussing a device to rupture a conventional collective" and 400 positions being eliminated, a "figure to take with a grain of salt" because the company "needs to retain its ability to rebound," he stated to the Agency France-Presse.
Read also Air France : these regulations, which complicates the return of the pilots in the air
Among the hostesses and stewards, "a redundancy of more or less 1 800 positions has been identified," said to the AFP Olivier Lavielle union SNGAF. The CBI is still under discussion must allow "to encourage employees who are near retirement to leave early, with a bonus", he adds. Questioned by Agence France-Presse, the management of Air France did not want to comment. The end of 2019, the Air France group had 55 292 employees in CDD and CDI, of which nearly 49 000 for single company habs.
