Workers Despair Over Qantas Job Cuts

Job cuts at Qantas could have a devastating effect on communities surrounding Victoria's two major airports, union officials have warned.

Australian Workers Union state secretary Cesar Melhem said Brimbank, Hume, Moonee Valley and Melton supplied the bulk of Qantas workers to Tullamarine Airport, while Avalon Airport attracted many of its workers from Wyndham.

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce last Thursday announced 500 jobs would be instantly cut from the airline's maintenance and catering services and a review of its three maintenance depots would likely result in a total of 1000 to 1500 jobs being lost.

Mr Joyce said the cuts were due to the airline retiring much of its 747 fleet, axing of two international routes, and ongoing economic volatility.

A Taylors Hill resident said he faced months of uncertainty after he was told by management on Friday that his job at Qantas's maintenance operations centre in Tullamarine would not exist beyond May.

Daryl Walker, who has worked at Qantas for more than 30 years, said he didn't know what he would do. He said at least 40 workers in his department were told their jobs would be cut.

Mr Walker, 50, said many workers were in shock, having recently purchased homes and fearful they will not be able to meet mortgage repayments.

"Some of the workers are nearing retirement so they won't be affected as much, but there are many blokes in their 30s who will be left devastated by the job cuts," he said.

The vice-president of the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association, Wesley Bell, said it was a scary time for workers.

Australian Workers Union state secretary Cesar Melhem said the state government needed to lobby Qantas to keep its Victorian operations.

"What [Qantas] want to do is go from three bases to two," he said.

"Those [north and western suburbs] are very important hubs for the airports; a lot of Qantas workers are coming from there."

A northern suburbs resident and Qantas mechanic, who wished to remain anonymous, said that since Thursday's announcement, the mood at Tullamarine had been at an all-time low.

-Anthony Loncaric and Eugene Benson

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