Air France KLM Chairman and CEO Jean-Cyril Spinetta has warned trade unions that the airline might see zero growth in capacity over the next two years, the company said on Wednesday.
A company spokeswoman said Spinetta had met a works council to discuss the possible impact on the air travel sector and Air France KLM from the financial crisis.
"He evoked the possibility of zero growth in capacity for the company in 2009 and 2010," she said.
Air France KLM added that Spinetta had also told unions that he could not give any firm guarantees over job numbers, given the tough market conditions.
"The chairman highlighted that the company remained determined to keep jobs whenever possible, even if the uncertainty about the global economic situation meant there could be no absolute guarantee about this," said the spokeswoman.
Air France KLM said it was in good shape to handle the financial crisis since it was in a "financially healthy position" and had strong market share.
Air France KLM was responding to an article due to appear in Thursday's edition of France's main business newspaper Les Echos, which said the company was forecasting three years without growth and a three percent drop in headcount.
Air France KLM shares closed down 5.2 percent at 13.61 euros on Wednesday, in line with the broader market, giving the company a market capitalization of around EUR4.1 billion euros (USD$5.3 billion).
The French government has a 16 percent stake in the company.
