Qantas to sack 6,000 staff

QANTAS BOEING 747-438 VH-OEF (CN 32910)    File Photo

Just when we thought things were on the improve here in Queensland Qantas announced yesterday it will cut at least 6,000 jobs across all parts of the business as part of its long-term response to the coronavirus pandemic and will not resume substantial international travel until July 2021.

Qantas says it does not expect to resume international flying in any meaningful volume for another 12 months, and will sack 20 per cent of its workforce as part of a three-year plan to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Chief executive Alan Joyce said the airline had no choice but to make 6000 of its 29,000 + workers redundant as the global aviation industry faced a years-long recovery from the coronavirus crisis "We have to position ourselves for several years where revenue will be much lower," Mr Joyce said. "Adapting to this new reality means some very painful decisions." A resumption of most international flights "will take a long time," he explained. "There'll be nothing this next financial year." Qantas expects international flying to recover to 50 per cent of its pre-pandemic volume in the 2022 financial year and to 75 per cent in 2023, Mr Joyce said. Meanwhile domestic flying - currently sitting at around 15 per cent of its usual network - could recover to 70 per cent of pre-pandemic levels within a year. Around 15,000 Qantas employees will remain stood down from duties until flying returns, the company said on Thursday. The 6000 redundancies will include office roles (1450 jobs), ground operations including baggage handlers (1500 jobs), cabin crew (1050), engineering (630) and pilots (220) across both Qantas and its budget arm Jetstar. Mr Joyce said Qantas expected to bring the 15,000 temporarily stood-down employees back to work by the end of 2020 if state borders reopen, but it would take until the middle of 2022 for its full workforce to return. “Any variation, second waves, could delay those stand-ups but don’t diminish our needs for those jobs," he said. The airline has now permanently retired all but one of their six Boeing 747 aircraft six months ahead of schedule, and will defer deliveries of new Airbus A321neo and Boeing 787-9 aircraft.

Qantas' fleet of 12 massive Airbus A380 aircraft that used to fly on long haul routes will be grounded for three years. I believe the aircraft are being stored in the Mojave desert in the United States because the dry conditions minimise corrosion.

Story sourced from here but with additions.

https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/qantas-to-sack-more-than-6000-workers-launch-1-9-billion-raising-20200625-p555yh.html