THE SNCF is looking to cut 1,432 jobs in the new year as part of a cost-cutting drive caused by falling passenger numbers.
Les Echos financial newspaper says high-speed TGV services - typically the group's most profitable activity - are forecast to decline by 0.3% next year.
Most of the job cuts will be achieved by not replacing staff who resign or retire and the newspaper says the SNCF's freight division will be the worst-affected.
It has also been reported that the SNCF's recently launched low-cost TGV service, Ouigo, which links Montpellier with Marne-la-Vallée near Disneyland Paris, is struggling.
Train occupancy rates are said to be well below target, in the region of 60%, meaning some services are loss-making.
Unions claim more than half of Ouigo users are regular TGV customers who have switched to the cheaper alternative - instead of the service attracting new passengers.
While 2014 will be year of cutbacks for the SNCF, another of France's biggest firms is growing. Hypermarket chain E Leclerc has announced 2,500 new jobs next year.
The recruitment drive is partly funded by a government measure, the credit impôt-competitivité, which allows for reduced social charges on newly created jobs.
Income Tax in France 2023 (for 2022 income)*
Visa and residency cards for France*
