Company historian shines light on companies in crisis
As a company historian, Dr Bram Bouwens (Economic and Social History) conducts research into companies in crisis, such as Tata Steel and KLM. Last week he was a guest at the radio programme Focus of NPO Radio 1 to talk about the history of KLM. Last month, the airline received billions of euros in state aid. Why is it so difficult for the Dutch government to simply let KLM go bankrupt?
KLM is the oldest still existing airline in the world. The company existed for exactly 101 years last week. But she almost didn't make it to her birthday. Without government support, the company could have gone bankrupt several times.
Expressions of support
You could almost say that the people who work at KLM have blue blood.
Bouwens states that KLM staff are very involved: "You could almost say that the people who work at KLM have blue blood". When the CEO of KLM, Pieter Elbers, was under fire last year in the discussion about Air France and KLM, airline staff took to the streets en masse to show their support for Elbers.
Financial support
In addition, KLM is very important for the Netherlands and the Dutch economy. "The Netherlands is proud of KLM and attaches great importance to having its own national airline," says Bouwens. This also explains why the Dutch government continues to support KLM financially at times when the company is struggling economically. "The economic and political significance of the company is still very large today", Bouwens states. "The company creates direct and indirect employment and also plays an important role on the political world stage."
Welcome aboard!
In honour of the centenary of the airline's existence last year, Bouwens wrote the book Welcome aboard! | Een eeuw KLM. The book shows how KLM was able to grow from an eight-man company in 1919 into a giant that carries millions of passengers each year.