Qantas to stand down 2500 employees in response to outbreaks

About 2500 frontline Qantas and Jetstar employees will be stood down for an estimated two months in response to ongoing COVID outbreaks across Australia.

The national carrier this morning said the stand-down is a temporary measure to deal with a drop in flying caused by COVID restrictions in Greater Sydney, in particular and the knock-on border closures in all other states and territories.

Qantas says no job losses are expected.Credit:Jason South

No job losses are expected.

“This is clearly the last thing we want to do, but we’re now faced with an extended period of reduced flying and that means no work for a number of our people,” Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said.

“We’ve absorbed a significant amount of cost since these recent lockdowns started and continued paying our people their full rosters despite thousands of cancelled flights.“

The decision will directly impact domestic pilots, cabin crew and airport workers, mostly in New South Wales but also in other states given the nature of airline networks.

Employees will be given two weeks’ notice before the stand down takes effect, with pay continuing until mid-August.

Qantas said it welcomed the targeted federal government support offered for those stood down outside of declared hotspots and to retain domestic aviation capability.

On Monday, the federal government announced airlines will be able to claim $750 a week for half of their pilots and flight attendants to prevent further job losses.

Australian airlines can claim for 50 per cent of their air crew workforce if they can show a 30 per cent downturn since Sydney became a national COVID-19 hotspot.

“This is clearly the last thing we want to do, but we’re now faced with an extended period of reduced flying and that means no work for a number of our people.“: Qantas CEO Alan Joyce.Credit:Janie Barrett

Mr Joyce said Qantas and Jetstar had gone from operating almost 100 per cent of their usual domestic flying in May to less than 40 per cent in July because of lockdowns in three states.

“Hopefully, once other states open back up to South Australia and Victoria in the next week or so, and the current outbreak in Brisbane is brought under control, our domestic flying will come back to around 50 to 60 per cent of normal levels,” he said.

Based on current case numbers, Mr Joyce said it was reasonable to assume that Sydney’s borders will be closed for at least another two months.

“We know it will take a few weeks once the outbreak is under control before other states open to New South Wales and normal travel can resume.

“Fortunately, we know that once borders do reopen, travel is at the top of people’s list and flying tends to come back quickly, so we can get our employees back to work.”

More to come

Alex Druce is Markets Live editor and a business reporter for the SMH and The Age.

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