2014 strike smashed Air France-KLM profits: Report
Air France-KLM has reported a big drop in its full-year profits due to a major strike by its pilots last year.
The giant European airline published its annual data Thursday, showing that a 14-day strike by pilots last September resulted in 198 million euros (USD 226 million) in net losses.
“During the second half of 2014, activity was affected by a 14-day strike by Air France pilots, which had an estimated negative impact of 425 million euros on the operating result," the Franco-Dutch group's report said.
It noted that had the pilots not gone on strike, the company could have made a net profit of 296 million euros, significantly up from 130 million euros in the previous year.
Air France-KLM pilots stopped working (as pictured above) in protest against the group’s plans to expand a low-cost subsidiary carrier called Transavia France, which according to the unions, could hugely endanger job security of the well-paid Air France pilots.
The statement on Thursday also showed a 2.4 percent drop in the turnover of the airline from the year earlier with overall earnings in 2014 standing at 24.9 billion euros.
However, Air France-KLM said it will push ahead with its plans for cost cuts and reducing investments. The company has already axed around 8,000 jobs over the past three years. Nearly 1,300 other departures are planned for the first half of 2015.
The group’s chief executive, Alexandre de Juniac, said such factors as oil price slide and depreciating euro are the main reasons behind Air France-KLM’s decision to squeeze costs.
MS/KA/SS
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