Air France Bosses Flee Violent Staff Protest

Air France (Paris: FR0000031122 - news) managers have been forced to flee large mobs of angry staff after announcing plans to slash the size of the workforce.

Pictures from the protest show senior managers with their shirts torn off climbing over a fence to escape.

Security officials were forced to usher the managers to safety.

The airline's parent company, Air France-KLM (Other OTC: AFLYY - news) , said it planned to take legal action over what it described as "aggravated violence" towards its senior staff.

"This violence was carried out by particularly violent, isolated individuals, whereas the protest by striking personnel was taking place calmly up until then," a spokesman said.

Hundreds of staff took part in the protest at the company's headquarters near Paris.

Air France managers had been outlining plans to cut 2,900 jobs, after failing to convince the airline's pilots to work longer hours.

The company also intends to reduce its long-haul business by 10%, and cut 14 planes from its long-haul fleet.

Air France-KLM is struggling to cope with increasing competition from lower-cost carriers inside Europe, as well as fast-expanding long-haul airlines in the Middle East.