Qantas mulling revamp that could send jobs offshore

Australian carrier Qantas confirmed yesterday it was considering a "substantial restructure" of its engineering and maintenance operation, a move which could see thousands of jobs moved offshore.

Chief executive Geoff Dixon said intense competition left the airline no alternative but to make widespread changes to this part of its operations.

"Maintenance Repair Operations [MROs] for airlines are changing rapidly throughout the world, with a big push towards scale and lower cost locations," he said. "The competition between MROs is becoming as competitive as the rest of the industry."

Dixon said while he preferred to keep jobs in the country, "if we cannot, by working together with staff, make the business globally competitive, we will have to pursue the alternative."

Details of the plan would be decided by February at the latest, he added.

Engineering and maintenance workers have been told the options for the airline were to either continue as usual, restructure and relocate extensively within Australia, or move significant parts of the business offshore, he said.

"The first option is not realistic, so we will need to decide between the other two," Dixon said in a statement.

The Australian newspaper reported yesterday that Qantas could outsource some 3,260 of its 6,900 engineering and maintenance jobs to Asia or North America unless staff agreed to workplace changes.

Prime Minister John Howard cautioned Qantas against moving jobs overseas.

"I hope they don't take decisions which transfer needlessly Australian jobs," Howard said.

"You can't stop the company, as part of its commercial arrangements, doing something that might mean there are fewer jobs in Australia -- it happens all the time. In a globalized world we have to accept that," he said in a radio interview.

"I would expect that Qantas would only do something like this if it is absolutely necessary."