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QANTAS Airways says about 150 of its employees and 250 contractors will go as part of changes to its engineering operations.
The job losses were due to overstaffing of line maintenance positions at Qantas' Sydney base, and as work on cabin interiors of some aircraft was completed, the airline said on Thursday.

There would also be cuts to staff numbers at Qantas Defence Services - which maintains the Australian Defence Force's C130 Hercules aircraft - and a consolidation of engineering training facilities from Melbourne to an existing facility in Sydney, the airline said.

The details of the job losses are in line with the airline's previous announcements of job cuts in its maintenance divisions.

Qantas also said it was adding up to 120 positions at its Brisbane maintenance facility as work was transferred from the airline's Tullamarine site in Melbourne, which has closed.

The airline had already added 100 positions in Brisbane since May.

"The changes will result in a net reduction of around 150 Qantas employees and 250 contractors from a workforce of around 30,000 across Australia," Qantas said in a statement on Thursday.

Line maintenance is usually carried out on aircraft daily, either in between flights or overnight, and includes minor repairs or modifications and visual inspections.

Qantas domestic chief executive Lyell Strambi said newer aircraft arriving into the fleet required less maintenance than the older aircraft they were replacing.

Affected staff would be offered assistance to relocate to Brisbane, or redeployment to other roles at the company, he said.

"I believe we have some of the most highly skilled and capable engineers in the world," Mr Strambi said in a statement.

"Unfortunately we just have too many for the work we have right now and the work we expect to have in future.

"Knowing how long it takes to build engineering skill and capability we have avoided making these decisions for as long as we could."

The airline closed down its Tullamarine facility in August, and planned to eventually consolidate all its heavy maintenance work for Boeing 737, 767 and Airbus A330 aircraft on one site.

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As part of our continuing transformation of QE, we have again had to make some difficult announcements that will impact many of our people today.

The changes we are making are largely about right sizing our business for the work we have today and the work we expect to have in the future. Knowing how long it takes to build engineering skill and capability we have avoided making these decisions for as long as we could. Right now our business is facing one of the toughest periods in its operating history. We have had our first loss since privatisation and as a major cost contributor to the business, we have a responsibility to respond where we have inefficiencies. As hard as it is to make these decisions, we just can’t afford to keep people in the business when the work is not there to be performed.

As the B744 reconfiguration program comes to a close, we will have too many people for the work remaining in Avalon. Tony Lowery has been at the base today to let the Avalon team know they will need to reduce numbers in the base by 263 before April next year. This includes both Qantas and Forstaff. Avalon will continue to provide maintenance on our B744 fleet as well as overflow work from the Brisbane base.

In Line Maintenance, Gavin Harris has announced a need to reduce up to 204 positions in Sydney. As a supply and demand business, when fleet leave the business we have no choice but to reduce the amount of people we employ to maintain them. Based on our projected fleet plan and further changes in A380 deliveries announced in May, we have a reduced workload that we must now respond to. Again, this is an area where we have traditionally held people in the hope of securing more work. The reality is we will be dealing with fewer aircraft in the fleet before the end of the financial year which will only compound the existing issues we face.

In QDS, the Government announced a cut to defence spending earlier in the year. Glenn Brown and the team have been working hard to secure more work since that time to avoid the impact of the C-130H aircraft leaving their Richmond facilities. Negotiations are continuing though based on Government decisions, there is an immediate need to reduce the work force by 40 to meet their current workload. In Brisbane QDS, the end of the RAAF #5 conversion and the retrofit on RAAF #2 will also mean a reduction of five positions before the end of the year.

Finally, following a review of Tech Training, Keith Clark has announced to our people that we will be closing the Melbourne centre and consolidating our training into the Sydney Facility. This decision comes as a result of a reduced training demand, under utilisation of facilities, and duplication between the Sydney and Melbourne operation. This will impact 11 people in the Melbourne school.

We have highly skilled, well respected and professional workers in all areas impacted by these decisions. Some of these people have been with us for most of their working lives and these decisions are by no means a reflection on them or the work they do.

I have been on both sides of the process a number of times. If I’ve learnt anything from these experiences it is that we need to look after our people, communicate with them regularly and support them as they transition into a future they might not have been expecting. Based on the experience of those affected in Tullamarine, we know what a difference it can make when someone takes the time to talk to you one on one, understands your individual circumstances and gives you the support and guidance you need to move forward. This kind of service will again be offered to our affected people.

I know change is unsettling whether this decision affects you directly or not. I encourage you to make use of the support we are offering, including the EAP support line, talk to your manager or People team and most importantly talk to each other.

It’s not an easy time and I know these decisions we are making are tough. Please do take care, be safe and look out for your mates. Your managers and I will keep you updated as things progress.

Chris

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