Qantas cutting 1500 jobs globally

Qantas Airways, the Australian national carrier, announced late this week that it will be cutting 1,500 jobs in locations world-wide and abandon its growth plans as it tried to reduce its operating costs while dealing with the soaring price of jet fuel.

Airline chief executive Geoff Dixon commented that the announced cuts amount to four per cent of the carrier’s overall work force. Call centres in Tucson, Arizona and London will be closed, leading to the loss of approximately 100 jobs. Nearly 1,300 jobs will be cut in Australia, and the remainder will be lost in several overseas locations.

Jetstar, Qantas’s budget subsidiary, will be affected by the cuts as well, and its hiring program will be suspended. The Jetstar pilot and cabin crew base located in the Adelaide will be closed down by September.

“The jobs to be cut will be principally concentrated in non-operational areas, although operational positions will also go,” Dixon said to reporters. “Over 20 per cent of our management and head office support jobs will be cut.”

The airline executive noted that the cuts were needed to ensure Qantas’s survival in a situation that he described as an aviation industry crisis, caused by the increasing cost of fuel. The Qantas cuts follow those announced by other major carriers, who have cut jobs and capacity, as well as raising airfares and adding fees to offset higher operating costs.

Qantas officials have said that fuel costs account for approximately 35 per cent of the airline’s overall expenses, and that increases are likely to add an additional $1.95 billion to its fuel costs for the fiscal year ending mid-2009.

www.qantas.com.au