Air France Employees Angry About Layoffs
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Air France announced 2,900 job cuts by 2017, and employees didn't react well. The company had asked pilots to take wage cuts, but they haven't agreed.
The head of HR for the company was pictured without a shirt, trying to get through a group of angry employees yelling, "A poil, à poil" (off with his clothes). In this photo, security officers are helping the executive escape. The head of Air France for Orly airport also had his shirt ripped by the crowd.
The airline union and parent company Air France-KLM denounced the employees' actions, and company officials said they would file a charges.
From IB Times, Business Insider summarizes similar employee situations in France since 2009. Employees at a Goodyear tire company held executives hostage for 30 hours rather than accept 1,173 job cuts. In 2009, employees at Caterpillar held executives hostage for a night after layoffs of 700 were announced.
Discussion Starters:
- Try to explain the employees' perspective given the news and the country's history.
- What do you think the management team will do now?
- How would such an event go over in other countries?
