Benjamin Smith, the new CEO of the Air France-KLM group will go straight to troubled Air France for a transitional period the group confirmed this week.
According to the statement, Smith will stay at Air France until at least 31st December where he will cut the airline in half in an effort to reduce the costs that have had a negative effect on the bottom line of the company.
Smith is already turning out to be a controversial choice as leader of the group, already he's attacked the French unions representing some of the staff at Air France, warning them that the French Government was willing to sell off its 14% stake in the airline and would not bale out the carrier.
However, the French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire says France has no plans at this time to sell the holding in the airline, further, he warned Smith should focus on increasing competitiveness of the airline. “Today the priority is to turn around Air France,” Mr Le Maire told French media, “Selling off the state’s stake in Air France is not part of Benjamin Smith’s action plan. It is not an option on the table today.”
