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.

FMI: www.qantas.com.au