Qantas to Cut 6,000 Jobs as Recovery Plan to Survive amid the Pandemic

Qantas is set to cut about 6,000 jobs equivalent to 20% of its workforce, along with an announcement of plans raising up to $1.9 billion from investors to battle against a huge drop in travel demand after Australia has closed their borders in order to halt the coronavirus spreading.

An Australian airline is urging to survive amid the pandemic, as part of its recovery plan approx. 6,000 jobs will be cut including 1,450 officer, 1,500 ground operations staff, 1,050 cabin crew, 630 engineering jobs and 220 pilots.

While another 15,000 employees will remain without pay over the coming months, particularly those works in international operations, until Qantas begins operating more flights. 

Moreover, 100 aircraft will be grounded for up to 12 months with a permanent retirement of 6 Boeing 747 aircrafts 6 months ahead of schedule.

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said that the Covid-19 impact would affect the airline sector for many years to come.

“Right now all airlines are in the middle of the biggest crisis our industry has ever faced,” he said.

“Airline revenues have collapsed, entire fleets have been grounded. And the world’s biggest carriers are taking extreme action just to survive.”

Joyce said the crisis had hit Qantas “very hard” and that “the impact will be felt for a long time”. He also said that international flights were unlikely to resume until July next year.

Qantas has a 30.6% market share in Australia’s international air travel sector and a 58.6% market share in the domestic industry.