Angry Mob Rips Shirts Off Air France Execs

Air France executives had their shirts ripped off and had to scale an eight-foot fence to escape an angry mob that stormed a meeting at company headquarters. The airline said that 2,900 jobs would likely be cut as part of a savings plan announced Monday, and workers stormed the meeting at Charles de Gaulle airport in protest, Bloomberg reports. Xavier Broseta, head of human resources, was shirtless by the time he got away from the protesters, while the suit worn by Pierre Plissonnier, head of long-haul flights, was ripped and in tatters. "These attacks were made by isolated and particularly violent individuals as the demonstration by personnel on strike was going on calmly," the airline said later in a statement.

The airline's move to cut jobs comes after productivity talks with the flight crew (pilots were asked to work more hours, but get no extra pay) failed, but Air France, which has been losing money since 2011, says it could compromise if unions come up with other ways to save money. Protesters shouted "naked, naked" as they swarmed the Monday meeting, which ended up being postponed. The AP reports that about 100 protesters broke through a gate and rushed the building, causing some flight delays and road disruptions around the airport in addition to the shredded businesswear. (More strange stuff stories.)