Air France is a very well-known major airline company. Recently a strike, led by the Air France pilots, took place and continued for 14 days until it finally came to an end. Initially the dispute was the workers objection to the new business plan set to take place. The plan entailed outsourcing jobs currently held to other countries with lower taxes and labor costs. In addition, they were also unsatisfied, saying even the current contracts sought for the low-cost carrier’s operations set in France were insufficient. Although the dispute is still unresolved, the workers decided to call off the strike anyway. This strike had a significant impact on all parties involved with Air France; the company lost their revenue streams for the 2 weeks, the company image was tarnished, in addition, it inconvenienced many in France and around the globe who had already purchased their tickets. It was estimated that the walkout cost the company approximately 20 million euros each day it continued. The French state actually owns 16% of the company, so this strike caused a hit for them as well. Air France is one of Europe’s biggest carriers and will surely continue to face the repercussions of this strike even following its end. This strike took place in an attempt to display their objection to the plan, however when Air France offered to scrap a major aspect of the plan, which entailed shifting many of its European operations to Transavia (a low price, Dutch based airline) they were still not happy. In this case, Air France was attempting to lower costs to eventually increase profits, although from a business standpoint this appears to be a sound decision, however the collateral damage was what angered the employees. At this point the strike is at an end however the issue is still unresolved as the plans to lower costs are still in effect.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/air-france-pilots-end-14-day-strike-1.2780459