Among those at Monday’s protest was Yves Porte, an activist who represents cargo workers.
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Mr Gagey had already left the room before the works council meeting near Charles de Gaulle airport north of Paris was interrupted after about an hour.
Seven people were hurt, including a security guard who was knocked unconscious and was being treated in hospital, Air France said.
Human resources manager Xavier Broseta and senior official Pierre Plissonnier had to clamber over a fence, while several others were injured.
He was joined on the run to safety by the airline’s head of long-haul flights, Pierre Plissonnier, who managed to make it over the fence with a few of his suit still on his body.
Air France director of Human Ressources, Xavier Broseta, center…
But increased competition from Middle Eastern rivals and budget airlines led the loss-making group to seek €1.8bn (HK$156 billion) in savings.
Broseta and the CEO at Air France Frederic Gagey were outlining a drastic cost cutting plan, described by the company as Plan B after it had failed to persuade the pilots of the company to accept a less radical one at an earlier time this year.
The involved unions also condemned the action, but not everyone sees the Air France employee protesters in such a negative light.
It had previously insisted that all flights would go ahead on Monday albeit with “some delays”, notably at check-in. “They are now spectators to a crash in which they will be the first victims”.
After the events, the airline issued a press release announcing a restructuring plan of its long-haul network, with a 10% capacity reduction in the coming two years, the closure of five routes and the cancellation of 35 weekly frequencies by 2017.
It has also issued a statement saying it prefers that staff leave voluntarily – however enforced redundancies may be necessary.
Air France managers had their shirts ripped from their backs during a protest over proposed job cuts at the airline on Monday. On Monday, media, citing the unions, reported the proposal was to slash 2,900 jobs – including 300 pilots, 900 flight attendants and 1,700 ground staff, according to Bloomberg. It has been at loggerheads with its main pilots union, the SNPL, over its plans.
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Profits at the airline have been hit in part by strikes by pilots, who have been protesting over the expansion of its budget subsidiary, Transavia.
