A total of 283 jobs will be lost in Montreal airline reservations offices following the closures of both the Air France/KLM and Delta call centres.
The Air France/KLM res office will close in April 2010 followed by its downtown sales office in August 2010. In total 141 current employees will lose their jobs.
Delta has also announced that it will close it's Montreal call centre laying off 142 staff August 31, 2010.
The closures are the result of the joint venture between Air France/KLM and Delta which will see Delta assume more responsibility for North American activities. All North American reservations and customer service calls will now be handled by Delta through its Atlanta call centre. A dedicated French-speaking team in Atlanta will handle incoming French language calls according to Bénédicte Duval, Vice-President Managing Director for Air France/KLM in Canada.
Delta will also be closing it's U.K. call centre in London resulting in 187 job losses. The carriers have stated that employees in both Montreal and London may have an opportunity to transfer to other positions within Delta or will get severance packages.
