Qantas will cut 400 jobs from mechanical

As part of its restructuring plan in the maintenance division aircraft mechanic Qantas today announced cutting 400 jobs in Australia.

The company reported that it reduced about 200 positions at its facility in Sydney where he believes there is a «overstaffed» and Defence Service Qantas leading maintenance of C-130 Hercules aircraft from the Royal Australian Air Force.

Other cuts will affect about 250 contract and a «small number» of employees working on the Boeing 747 project, which will culminate in Melbourne this month.

Meanwhile, Qantas will add about 120 jobs to the maintenance center in Brisbane where it will invest approximately $ 30 million as transferred to these facilities operations performed so far in Melbourne.

In total, the company expects a reduction of approximately 150 employees and 250 contract staff.

Lyell Strambi, head of Qantas’s domestic operations, said that modern aircraft require less maintenance and the company needs to cut costs to compete internationally. «Our cost base in heavy maintenance is 30 times higher than that of our competitors who mostly performs these mechanical work abroad,» the executive as ABC.

The airline is in the process of restructuring to reduce and outsource part of its international unit, which has suffered due to currency exchange rates, increased fuel prices and competition from other companies.

Last August, Qantas announced a drop in profits of $ 245 million Australian ($ 255 million or 200 million euros), the first decline since its privatization in 1995.