Qantas to cut 5,000 jobs after posting A$252 million pretax loss

Australian carrier Qantas Airways plans to cut 5,000 jobs, or 15 per cent of its workforce, sell older jets and reduce capital spending after reporting a first-half loss amid growing competition in both international and domestic operations.

The deep cuts are part of Qantas’ plans to slash costs by A$2 billion (HK$14 billion) over the next three years – an attempt by the airline to convince the federal government and investors it is worthy of the state assistance it says it needs.

Qantas is seeking a government debt guarantee to give it access to cheaper capital. Battered by high fuel costs and a strong Australian dollar, its credit rating was relegated to junk status last year amid a price war with arch-rival Virgin Australia.

The underlying loss before tax of A$252 million was in line with the A$250 million to A$300 million loss the airline warned last month it would report for the six months to December.

In the same period a year earlier, Qantas made a profit of A$220 million.