Air France managers have been forced to flee the company's headquarters after being attacked by a baying mob of workers that tore their clothes off.

Hundreds of angry staff stormed the Air France building at the Charles de Gaulle International Airport in Roissy, near Paris, after the company announced plans to cut 2,900 jobs on Monday.

Two senior executives, Xavier Broseta, Vice President for Human Resources, and Pierre Plissonnier, deputy of Air France long-haul flights, both had their shirts ripped off their backs as they were evacuated through the crowds.

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Under attack: A shirtless Xavier Broseta, Executive Vice President for Human Resources at Air France, is evacuated by security after employees interrupted a meeting with representatives staff at the Air France headquarters building at the Charles de Gaulle International Airport in Roissy, near Paris

Shortly before the attack, Mr Broseta and Air France Chief Executive Frederic Gagey had outlined a drastic cost cutting plan, which would see 2,900 jobs cut by 2017.

The cuts include 1,700 ground staff, 900 cabin crew and 300 pilots, as part of efforts to lower costs, two union sources said.

Air France also confirmed in the meeting that it plans to shed 14 aircraft from its long-haul fleet, reducing the business by ten per cent, and that it wants to cancel its order for Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

This outraged staff, who are already at loggerheads with the company, and hundreds stormed the building, interrupting the meeting.

Mob: Hundreds of disgruntled workers stormed the building after Air France confirmed that it plans to cut 2,900 jobs by 2017 and shed 14 aircraft from its long-haul fleet as part of efforts to lower costs

Mr Broseta and Mr Plissonnier were aided by security as they tried to escape the baying mob

Pierre Plissonnier, 2ndR, Air France deputy of long-haul flights, is surrounded by employees after they interrupted a meeting with representatives at Air France HQ at Charles de Gaulle International Airport

Air France CEO Gagey had already left the room on Monday before the works council meeting near Charles de Gaulle airport north of Paris was interrupted about an hour after it had begun.

Mr Broseta and Mr Plissonnier had to be escorted through the crowds by security as outraged union members tore their suits apart, forcing them to climb over a fence to get to safety.

Parent Air France-KLM said it planned to take legal action over 'aggravated violence' carried out against its managers.

The action of the workers were later condemned by France's main airline industry union FNAM, who calling it 'outdated behaviour'.

Violent protests by workers are commonplace in France, where the population has a long tradition of taking the law into its own hands. This year, as the country struggles to come out of an economic downturn, has seen many.

No backing: France's main airline industry union FNAM condemned the attack on Broseta and Plissonnier calling it 'outdated behaviour'

Fleeing: Mr Broseta is aided by security staff as he is forced to climb over a fence in order to escape the mob

Help: Mr Plissonnier was also forced to climb over the fence to safety, his suit torn to pieces

Traffic disruption, damage to public property and injuries to police officers have gone hand-in-hand with a spate of demonstrations by farmers, taxi drivers, ferry workers and even tobacconists.

However, unlike the headline makers in some other disputes, pilots lack sympathy among the general public and the Socialist government.

Ministers have queued up in recent days to put pressure on pilots to strike a deal, and a recent opinion poll for Le Parisien newspaper found 71 per cent of people see them as a privileged group, with 64 per cent believing they complain too much.

Ground staff trade unions long ago accepted the company's original, less draconian, cost-saving regime, in contrast to the pilots, who staged a strike a year ago that cost the company 500 million euros ($560 million).

Union activists protesting proposed layoffs at Air France zeroed in on the two managers who had their shirts torn from their bodies, scaled a fence and fled under police protection

Mr Plissonnier, left, and Mr Broseta, could be seen walking away from the mob after scaling the fence

Air France-KLM is seeking to cope with growing competition. It has been at loggerheads with its main pilots union, the SNPL, over its plans.

Europe's big three flag carriers, which also include British Airways owner IAG and Germany's Lufthansa, have been squeezed between low-cost competition inside Europe and fast-expanding long-haul airlines in the Gulf, as well as Turkish Airlines (THY).

Turkish Airlines is set to become the largest carrier on routes to and from Europe by the end of this year, ahead of British Airways, aircraft financiers gathered in Prague were told on Monday. Dubai's Emirates would be in third place.

The data treats Air France and KLM separately.