Qantas says it has decided to lay off 2,500 workers as lockdowns in Sydney are affecting air travel in Australia.
The furloughed employees involve pilots, crew and airport staff and it will last for at least two months, the airline revealed.
Will The Salaries Be Paid?
About the payroll, Qantas announced that they would pay workers until mid-August, after which the workers are free to and could apply for government support.
As of June, the new Covid outbreak has forced the majority of Australians to face restrictions again.
Delta’s highly contagious variant has forced of many cities to go into lockdown and the many state borders have also been sealed.
Delta Variant Outbreak
The situation is much more serious in Sydney. It sees about 200 new infections every day, even though it has been under lockdown and social-distancing norms since June 26th.
Almost every region has blocked visitors from Australia’s largest city.
Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said Delta variant’s recent outbreak had led to thousands of canceled flights.
Qantas and its budget airline, Jetstar, have lost about 60% of their home business from May to July, he added.
The travel bubble that started recently which was flying passengers to New Zealand has also been suspended.
‘This Is The Last Thing We Want To Do’
Mr Joyce said the airline could no longer keep 2,500 employees and had to make a move, but described it as a temporary measure.
“This is obviously the last thing we want to do,” he said.
But he added that “the circumstances are very different from last year when we had more than 20,000 employees furloughed”.
Last year, Qantas was forced to lay off an estimated 6,000 workers – about a fifth of its employees.
In May, the airline said it would report losses of more than A $ 2bn (£ 1.1bn; $ 1.5bn) a year but hoped to return to normalcy the following by year.
The Qantas were unable to continue their international routes – with the exception of New Zealand – due to the closure of Australia’s international border.