Wed, Apr 09, 2003
Blame Iraq And SARS
Qantas, the national airline of Australia, says it
will lay off 1000 workers before the end of June in response to the
war on Iraq and the deadly SARS virus.
Qantas chief executive Geoff Dixon said the lay-offs were part
of an ongoing restructuring program the company was undertaking in
response to changes in the aviation market. "We regret the need for
this action," Dixon said in a statement to the Australian Stock
Exchange. "However, it is vital we move quickly to protect our
position in a very difficult and competitive industry.
"Qantas is one of the more successful airlines in the world
today. We will only remain so by ensuring our labor and capital
expenditure base matches current market activity." Dixon said the
restructure would involve 1700 positions, with 1000 lay-offs, 400
positions eliminated through attrition and 300 permanent positions
being converted to part-time employment.
More Management Affected
The reductions will affect 9 per cent of
management and 5 per cent of wage and salary employees. Dixon said
the company would also extend the accelerated leave program to
include the equivalent of 1000 employees taking leave between July
and September. The program has already involved the equivalent of
2500 people taking leave between March and June 30.
Qantas will also make ad hoc changes to flying schedules until
conditions showed improvement, he said. The company said on March
28 it would reduce planned international flying by around 20 per
cent between April and mid-July. Dixon said the global aviation
industry had shed more than 400,000 jobs between the September 11
terrorist attacks and the beginning of the war against Iraq.
Airlines had also announced plans to cut tens of thousands of
jobs since the outbreak of war and the deadly SARS virus, he said.
"The global aviation industry is under severe strain," Dixon said.
"Our aim is to protect the jobs of the vast majority of Qantas
employees, to ensure we continue to meet the needs of our many
shareholders and to position ourselves for the inevitable recovery.
However, we cannot rule out further restructuring, including
redundancies" - the Aussie euphemism for lay-offs.
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