Air France says to cut 500 cabin jobs this year

PARIS - Agence France-Presse

REUTERS Photo

Air France wants to trim its cabin crew by 500 through a voluntary retirement scheme, a spokeswoman said yesterday.

Air France-KLM has suffered from a fall of competitiveness in recent years, under pressure from low-cost operators and the rise of airlines in the Middle East and in Asia.

In January last year, the company announced a vast restructuring plan called “Transform 2015.” It set aside 471 million euros ($610 million) under this plan to cover expenses related to cutting its workforce to boost productivity.

“The workforce reduction plan aims at reducing the cabin crew strength by 500,” the spokeswoman told AFP.

Last year about 3,300 out 100,000 staff voluntarily left the airline group and most were not replaced. The plan targets 5,122 voluntary departures this year.