After more job cuts, union calls on Qantas boss to resign
The Transport Workers Union has demanded the Australian Prime Minister intervene and order Qantas to return millions in government aid.
It comes as Qantas announced it will outsource ground handling services to save about $100 million.
That means it will cut another 2,500 jobs.
The TWU called it a ‘callous abuse of public money.’
Qantas Group received A$515 million in government support, of which about half was for JobKeeper payments to furloughed staff.
"What (Prime Minister) Scott Morrison should do is ask them to pay that money back and take an equity stake and take control of this airline and get it back on an equal footing," TWU National Secretary Michael Kaine said.
"If (Qantas Group CEO) Alan Joyce’s only plan is to wield the axe on thousands of loyal staff, he should resign. This is not shrewd management."
An airline spokesperson said $267 million was received for JobKeeper payments, and most of it went to 20,000 employees who have been stood down.
Qantas said it will outsource ground handling operations at 10 airports – Adelaide, Alice Springs, Brisbane, Cairns, Canberra, Darwin, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney and Townsville.
These latest job losses are in addition to 6,000 it announced a few days ago.
Written by Ray Montgomery, Asia Pacific editor
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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