Air France unions plan cold shoulder for new boss

PARIS Air France-klm Group directors haven’t even voted on hiring Ben Smith as the company’s new chief and already its French unions are preparing a lively welcome for the Canadian executive.

Recruiting a foreign boss is “inconceivable,” nine unions said Thursday before a board meeting at which Smith probably will be chosen as chief executive officer.

Labour groups will meet Aug. 27 to decide next steps in a longrunning dispute over pay that’s led to 15 days of strikes and lost flights this year.

Smith, the No. 2 executive at Air Canada, will have to pursue cost cuts and operational improvements in a highly competitive industry while trying to rein in disgruntled unions, all with the French state looking over his shoulder.

Labour opposition won’t derail the hiring of Smith, whose 19 years in the airline industry give him the legitimacy to be Air France-klm CEO, according to a senior French government official. It’s not up to unions to pick managers, said the official, who asked not to be named in line with government policy.

The French state is the carrier’s largest shareholder, with a 14 percent stake. An Air France spokesman declined to comment on the unions’ statement.

Smith has an “excellent profile” to run the company, and the state’s representative on the Air France board will vote to hire him, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said.

The labour groups said they wanted “a responsible leader” steeped in the French model of workplace relations, as well as Air France-klm’s position versus European competitors. They cited Donald Trump’s presidency in the U.S. as evidence of an “economic war” in which national interests are paramount.