Qantas

Qantas have announced they will sack 5,000 workers.

I presume they'll just move a lot of their operations to cheaper labor in Asia.

I think they should keep the 5,000 jobs and move CEO Alan Joyce to Asia.

The decline of a once-great airline.

It's also a worry for Australia, after a lot of recent huge job losses.

Jobs from major Australian companies are disappearing at an alarming rate.
Patricularly from operations in manufacturing or labour oriented areas.

We simply can't compete with Asian labour especially from India and China.

Our Australian businesses are subject to tight IR, WHS, ACCC and other laws that those countries just do not have.

The real rub is that in my line of consultancy service work, you have some state governments procuring work from India at 20% of Australian rates. I find this sort of activity somewhat unfair and really promotes double standards.

The government may be a little hamstrung in assisting major corporations in this environment, but it doesn't (and shouldn't) have to contribute to the issue.

One of Qantas' problems is that it is competing with Virgin, which is mainly owned by Government backed airlines like Singapore Airlines and Etihad. Both of these can afford to run at a loss as their respective Goverments are happy to prop it up.

No-one likes to see Australian jobs, and wages, go overseas but the reality is, if people prefer to buy foreign goods and services because they are cheaper then Australian products, then Australian companies need to source cheaper foreign products or go out of business.

I wonder how many of the people complaining about Qantas job losses, flew Tiger airways to Bali for their last holiday?

In this case though I believe Qantas has to accept a fair percentage of the blame.

They has been very complacent IMO, relying far to heavily on the 'sentimentality' of being our 'flying kangaroo', assuming brand loyalty while also pitching themselves as somehow being above the other carriers.

Meanwhile, Virgin in particular has stolen their domestic market and become the most cheapest and more importantly the most accesible carrier for Aussie Joe Average.

Don't get me wrong, I'd hate to see Qantas disappear from our skies, but they have to accept some responsibility for their current predicament.

I Sound a bit Joe Hockey don't I? Haha.   

For the record I do agree with all points above re other factors as well, just think Qantas could do a lot better themselves too!

Qantas for far too long held onto the ideal that people were prepared to pay a premium for a service. People are, but when cheaper viable options arose Qantas were too slow to respond.

Now that holds true in air travel, but only when talking long haul*.

Skipping Adelaide>Melbourne, Melbourne>Sydney (did you know that route is the third busiest route in the world? ) Sydney>Brisbane is not long haul and the family holiday budget getting smaller and smaller means Qantas are no longer the first option.

*Long haul flights now have so much competition from the likes of Singapore, Emirates, Virgin Atlantic etc etc that leaving the country is no longer almost exclusively Qantas' domain.

Having said all of that, I fly with only Qantas for work, usually they fit into a working day schedule more conveniently than the other options.....and I don't pay for it.

Lets hope they can remain, lets hope they remain the safest of all airlines and dont cut corners on maintenance and safety for the sake of some dollars.

Gingernuts wrote:I Sound a bit Joe Hockey don't I? Haha.   

For the record I do agree with all points above re other factors as well, just think Qantas could do a lot better themselves too!

Ginger Joe Hockey certainly has a ring to it.  

If we're talking Joe Hockey, then just 'Nuts' has a ring to it.

Sorry, I withdraw that, couldn't resist. Would have been the same joke if Wayne Swan was still in.

Why dont they just sack the boss, he gets paid the same as 60 workers. Yep, 60 workers for ruining the joint.

Footy Lover wrote:Why dont they just sack the boss, he gets paid the same as 60 workers. Yep, 60 workers for ruining the joint.

good call