Air Canada rescue up in air after crash of union talks

0 Comments | AFP, May, 2004

TORONTO (AFP) — Air Canada's 13-month battle to stave off liquidation lurched into turmoil after talks with a holdout union crashed without a deal on cost cuts demanded by rescuer Deutsche Bank.

On a day of high drama, the insolvent airline pulled the plug after 13 days of talks, saying the gap with the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) union was too wide to bridge.

The move threw the rescue plan, and the Canadian flag carrier's future, into serious doubt, just two days before a judge must decide whether to extend the airline's protection from creditors, or let it fall into liquidation.

Air Canada bosses declared an impasse with CAW after exhausting talks here on 200 million dollars (144 million US) in cost cuts demanded by Deutsche Bank as a condition of an...