Qantas Airways’ CEO Defends Dismissal of Two-Thirds of Its Workforce

Qantas Airways’ CEO, Alan Joyce, is defending the company’s decision after announcing that it would be laying off 20,000 staff members in the face of continuing fallout from the coronavirus-outbreak” target=”_self” rel=”nofollow noopener noreferrer”>coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The Australian national carrier and its budget brand, Jetstar, announced on March 17, 2020, that two-thirds of their 30,000-odd employees would be stood down from their duties until at least the end of May, with the situation to be reassessed in April.

Qantas and its subsidiaries have already suspended all international flights, following the Australian federal government’s edict that its citizens should avoid all international travel.

Joyce explained that, with 150 of its aircraft grounded, the carrier’s pilots, cabin crew, baggage handlers and airport lounge workers will be the worst affected by the layoffs.

Staff members will be allowed to use their leave and long service leave, and those who don’t can borrow up to four net weeks of leave time against their future earnings. “We will pay for that and that gives them the next four weeks,” Joyce said.

However, national secretary for the Transport Workers Union (TWU), Michael Kaine, made the case that Qantas executives are essentially forcing their own employees to bail-out the airline in a time of crisis by compelling them to use up the vacation time they’re owed and seizing leave balances that aren’t yet accrued.

“It means when the airline returns to profitability, its share price will soar and executives will return to massive bonuses on the back of workers sacrificing their entitlements,” Kaine argued.

In a response issued to the COVID-19-worst-crisis-hit-industry.html?ito=rss-flipboard” target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow noopener noreferrer”>Daily Mail, a Qantas spokeswoman rebutted, “The coronavirus is the biggest crisis to ever face global aviation, and the TWU would rather criticize the company and grandstand than work with us to weather the storm.”

In a video-recorded interview with coronavirus/12069876″ target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow noopener noreferrer”>ABC 7.30, speaking about the COVID-19 pandemic, Joyce opined, “I know for the economy it’s probably going to be a lot worse than the GFC,” in reference to the 2008 global financial crisis. “These are the worst times we’ve ever seen in aviation. This is the biggest crisis aviation has ever gone through,” he said and went on to communicate the overall message that Qantas will do whatever it takes to survive.

In defense of the company’s mass-scale layoff, Joyce said that the decision to stand down two-thirds of its workforce until the end of May, at the earliest, seemed a better route than losing skilled employees. He argued, “At the end of the day, we’re protecting these jobs. We’re not making people redundant, and we’re trying this mechanism to make sure we can get through and survive, and they have a job at the end of the day.”

PHOTO: Qantas Airways’ CEO, Alan Joyce. (Photo courtesy of Qantas)

In its reply to the Daily Mail, Qantas suggested that, if carriers continued to pay their workers when there was no work to be done, there would be no airlines left to employ them.

The airline is sticking solidly to this rationale, despite the AU$715-million stimulus and support package granted by the Australian federal government to the nation’s aviation industry on March 18, 2020. Joyce said that, even with this assistance, Qantas may be forced to dismiss more of its workers as the COVID-19 situation progresses.

Reportedly, Joyce has voluntarily declined to draw a salary until at least the end of this fiscal year, while the pay of senior executives and board members has been frozen.

For more information, visit qantas.com.

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