Air France-KLM’s incoming chief executive officer got a warning from one of the carrier’s labor unions: Satisfy our pay demands or we will walk off the job again.
Ben Smith, Air Canada’s operations chief, is to take over by Sept. 30, the Paris-based airline said in a statement late on Thursday. He succeeds Jean-Marc Janaillac, who quit this year after failing to end a series of crippling strikes at Air France-KLM.
The airline said it would announce details “as soon as possible” on the post of non-executive chairman.
Photo: AFP
Smith faces having to cut costs and improve operations in a competitive industry while trying to rein in disgruntled unions, all with the French state looking over his shoulder.
The poisonous atmosphere should come as no surprise: In 2015, a protest of job cuts by Air France workers near Charles de Gaulle Airport ended up with two managers having their shirts ripped off as they were trying to escape. Janaillac staked his job on a staff vote on his plans — and lost.
“We’re still determined to succeed in our demands,” CGT union representative Vincent Salles said yesterday in an interview on radio network France Info. “Thus, yes, there’s a strong risk of strikes if Ben Smith is not capable of renewing a dialogue with the unions of Air France.”
Until Smith takes over, Air France-KLM is to retain the governance structure put in place after Janaillac’s resignation. Non-executive chairman Anne-Marie Couderc is to keep her role in the interim period.
In the statement, she said Smith is “a man who prefers dialogue” who has “developed and implemented the historical long-term win-win agreements with the airline’s social partners.”
Air France shares fell 2 percent to 8.88 euros at 9:12am in Paris. They have lost 33 percent this year amid the labor strife.
Recruiting a foreign boss is “inconceivable,” nine unions said before the airline’s board met on Thursday to select a new CEO.
Labor groups are to meet on Aug. 27 to decide their next steps in a long-running dispute over pay that has led to 15 days of strikes and lost flights this year.
The unions said that they want “a responsible leader,” who is steeped in the French model of workplace relations, as well as Air France-KLM’s position versus European competitors.
Salles backed off from talking about the criticism of Smith’s nationality in the radio interview, saying instead that workers are concerned the company plans to expand its low-cost operations, leading to lower pay for employees.
“He’s here to make low cost a bigger part of Air France to the detriment of the main Air France unit and put in place third-rate agreements that are going to worsen the work conditions and the salaries at Air France,” Salles said.
Unions cited the administration of US President Donald Trump as evidence of an “economic war” in which national interests are paramount.
“Other countries and governments show fierce protectionism when it comes to their airline,” they said. “How in this context, when we know the importance of the economic benefits of a carrier to the rest of society, can Air France be left in foreign hands?”
Smith’s 19 years in the airline industry made him a legitimate choice to run Air France-KLM, a senior French government official said before the choice was made.
The French state is the carrier’s largest shareholder, with a 14 percent stake.
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