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Air France has cut goals for voluntary redundancies following the recent softening of restructuring plans and now targets just over 1,600 departures by early 2017, a person close to the airline said. The new voluntary plan, communicated to unions, involves shedding 1,405 jobs among ground staff and 200 among cabin crew, compared with previous targets of 1,823 and 890 respectively. Pilots now face no voluntary redundancies, compared with a previous target of 280. "The idea is that this voluntary departure plan should be the last," the person said, adding that the it hoped to add new pilots and cabin crew depending on the outcome of union negotiations to take place over the summer. In January, Air France dropped its 'Plan B' restructuring project with forced job cuts and tilted its plans towards growth. <br/>

Korean Air and Asiana Airlines are grappling with escalating labour-management conflicts because the two carriers are seeking to downsize their workforces and reduce employee benefits amid worsening business conditions. The pilot union at Korean Air has been taking action to disrupt company operations, rather than staging a full-scale strike. Unionised cabin crew members at Asiana, who oppose the airline's sweeping restructuring drive, have engaged in confrontations with the management. The Korean Air Pilot Union said Sunday that it has been taking all possible steps to force the company to accept its demand since its members overwhelmingly voted to strike Feb. 19. The union had demanded Korean Air to increase its base salary by 50%. But the management rejected this, asking pilots to accept a salary freeze <br/>