Qantas Airways announces further 2,500 job cuts
- Daniel Teo
- Topics: Asia-Pacific, Australia, Home Page - News, News
Qantas Airways will cut a further 2,500 jobs on top of the 6,000 they planned in June as it looks to cushion the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the airline announced on August 25.
The Australian carrier also revealed plans to outsource ground handling at major Australian airports, including Sydney and Melbourne, as well as at larger regional airports.
Qantas’ head of domestic operations Andrew David said in a statement that outsourcing the ground handling jobs would save an estimated A$100 million each year in operating costs.
“Airlines have to change how they operate to ensure they can survive long-term,” he said.
“Today’s announcement will be very tough for our hard-working teams, most of whom have already been stood down for months without work.
“This obviously adds to the uncertainty, but this is the unfortunate reality of what COVID-19 has done to our industry.”
This latest cost-cutting exercise comes after Qantas reported a A$2 billion annual loss and scrapped its dividend last week.
“Further significant losses are projected in the 2021 financial year, and an at least $10 billion drop in revenue due to the ongoing impact of COVID,” Qantas said in a statement.
