The Wire

Qantas CEO, Alan Joyce, today announced that 5,000 jobs will be axed over the next three years, following a first half loss of $252 million. The work force cuts are part of a bid by the airline to save $2 billion in costs by 2017. Changes will also be made to the Qantas fleet and flight paths. Unions are angered by the announcement and argue that blunders at an executive level are to blame for the airlines poor performance. Paul Cousins, Federal President of the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association is also troubled by the loss of skilled workers in the Australian aviation industry.