Qantas won't confirm job losses

Qantas won't confirm job losses
By admin


Qantas is refusing to confirm or deny reports the financially troubled airline will axe up to 5,000 jobs as part of its efforts find $2 billion in savings.

The airline is said to be preparing to announce deeper job cuts than previously expected when it unveils a half year loss of up to $300 million on Thursday.

A report from News Corp Australia says the airline is planning to axe up to 5,000 workers, well above the 2,000 jobs losses previously expected, with 1,500 of those jobs expected to come from the company's executive and support divisions.

Final job numbers could change before Thursday, the report says.

It also claimed Qantas was looking to sell its lease on Melbourne Airport and would announce the sale of its Brisbane Airport lease this week.

Sources at the airline said negotiations relating to the future of Qantas' Melbourne lease are continuing.

Meanwhile, the airline said it was "not in a position to comment on that speculation".

"We have said that we will be making some tough decisions in order to achieve $2 billion in cost savings over the next three years, which is a consequence of an unprecendented set of market conditions now facing Qantas," a statement released this morning said.

"We've also said that we must take steps to reduce our costs regardless of whether the Federal Government acts on the uneven playing field in the Australian aviation market."

Qantas has been lobbying the federal government for assistance, most likely in the form of a debt guarantee, though possibly also through the lifting of foreign ownership restrictions on the airline.

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