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French-Dutch culture clash revealed in leaked Air France/KLM report
A clash of national cultures and an inability to understand each
other’s languages threatens to make the merged Air France/KLM group of
airlines unmanageable, according to a leaked internal company report.
French staff in the Franco-Dutch company complain their colleagues from the Netherlands are money grubbing, while the Dutch regard the Air France staff as aloof, according to the report.
Among the petty grievances, there is irritation that a KLM employee
working in Paris is charged €10 for lunch in the canteen, while an Air France colleague pays only €4. One questions whether the alliance can survive given the long standing
mutual incomprehension between the Dutch and French camps within the
group.
The Dutch think that the French are attached to a hierarchy and
political interests which are not necessarily the same as the interests
of the company. The extent to which employees are disillusioned is
shocking. People are pessimistic, frustrated and burnt out because they
feel that this is not listened to.
