Air France-KLM's New CEO Faces Immediate Union Threat of Strike
- Canadian executive will start in his new job by Sept. 30
- Union official warns that labor groups will push pay demands
Ben Smith
Photographer: Aaron Vincent Elkaim/The Canadian Press via AP
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Air France-KLM’s new chief executive officer got a warning from one of the carrier’s labor unions: Satisfy our pay demands or we’ll walk off the job again.
Ben Smith, Air Canada’s operations chief, will take over as CEO by Sept. 30, the Paris-based airline said in a statement late 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 nonexecutive chairman.