Air France Plans to Cut 5,100 Jobs By Decemeber 2013

 Air France, in hopes of returning to era of break-even profit margins, have undertaken in an investment involving a multi-million dollar refurbishment of cabin facilities on the airlines with a focus on the premium classes.

The massive financial business project will require “restructuring” on short- and medium-haul operations for Air France. The carrier plans to complete the job cuts by December of 2013 and has claimed to only use “forced departures” as a last resort, and rely heavily on voluntary retirements.

Air France claims that talks with ground staff, cabin crew and pilot unions are already underway.

The enormous size of the cutback and the idea that over 5,000 jobs can be lost and the airline can continue to operate raises a litany of questions for the carrier’s human relations and task management divisions. 

Michael Patton, CEO of POTHOS, asks “How can businesses (airlines) continue to cut people? At what point do you not have any staff anymore? How can a business staff so far excessively? Were those people doing any work? How can that work be absorbed?”

The recovery plan was introduced in January and further announcements can be expected over the coming months.