[SYDNEY] Struggling Australian airline Qantas will make dozens of pilots redundant for the first time in 40 years, reports said Wednesday, as it looks to slash costs to contain massive losses.
The national carrier, which announced it would cut 5,000 jobs from its workforce in February, will call for voluntary redundancies among its Boeing 747 and 767 pilots, the Australian Financial Review said.
Qantas previously said it would retire both ageing Boeing fleets as part of its plan to save A$2 billion (US$1.8 billion) over the next three years, with chief executive Alan Joyce saying the airline was facing “some of the toughest conditions” it had ever seen.
Qantas chief pilot Dick Tobiano said in an internal message that plans to accelerate the retirement of the planes meant the airline was no longer able to manage the staff surplus through leave arrangements, the newspaper reported.
source: businesstimes.com.sg
