SYDNEY: Struggling Australian airline Qantas said it will make dozens of pilots redundant for the first time in 40 years 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. A spokesman said the airline was not placing an exact number on the redundancies until the application process was complete but reports said up to 100 positions of the 550 pilots for both fleets, were being targeted. Qantas has around 2,000 pilots on its books. The airline had said it would retire both its ageing 747 and 767 fleets as part of a plan to save Aus$2bn over the next three years, with CEO Alan Joyce saying the airline was facing “some of the toughest conditions” it had ever seen. AFP
