French rail firm plans to cut over 1000 jobs

French rail company SNCF plans to cut more than 1,000 jobs according to its 2015 budget, union representatives said Wednesday, despite recent price hikes aimed at improving service.
Employee representatives, who have only a consultative vote, unanimously opposed the budget in the works council, labour leaders said.
The board of the company was set to consider the budget on Thursday.
The train service operating unit SNCF Mobilites stands to lose around 1,600 posts in 2015, according to the budget, while the rail infrastructure management unit SNCF Reseau will gain 500 jobs.
The net loss of 1,100 jobs is about 0.7 percent of the state-owned company's nearly 149,000 staff.
The company cut nearly 1,100 of the 1,400 jobs it planned to last year.
The government agreed to ticket price hikes effective at the beginning of the year, citing the need to improve service quality, but Roger Dillenseger of the Unsa said the job cuts will "lead to a degradation in service".