QANTAS TO AXE UP TO 1,750 JOBS

MELBOURNE, April 14 (Bernama) -- Qantas will axe up to 1,750 jobs and ground
10 planes as it battles an economic downturn, media reports here said.

New Qantas chief executive, Alan Joyce was quoted today as saying that the
company would miss its full-year profit forecast by an extraordinary 60-80
percent.

Its target of a A$500 million profit before tax for the 2008-2009 year has
been slashed to between A$100 million and A$200 million.

Given its profit of A$288 million for the first six months of the year, this
suggests the national carrier will report a loss for the second half.

The new profit target includes A$150 million in provisions for writing down
the value of planes and restructuring costs, which includes redundancy
payments.

But Qantas warned the new forecast assumed "no further changes in market
conditions, fuel prices".

"Market conditions have deteriorated, especially in our international
business," Joyce was quoted as saying by "The Australian" newspaper.

He said Jetstar, the Qantas Frequent Flyer business and QantasLink, were
continuing to perform well.

But Qantas was experiencing significantly lower demand, particularly in
premium classes, and it faced considerable price pressures with extensive sales
and discounting by all carriers, in some cases leading to fare cuts of up to 50
percent.

"We have no choice but to lower our profit forecast and make major changes
to ensure Qantas can weather the current commercial environment," he said.

Qantas said it would shed an extra 500 management positions, with up to 1250
other staff across the airline to lose their jobs.

The job losses, on top of 90 management positions announced last month,
means Qantas is cutting as many jobs as the national clothing retailer Pacific
Brands.

Pacific Brands drew national condemnation last month when it revealed
plans to axe 1850 jobs and shift key parts of its production overseas, the
newspaper said.

"We employ over 34,000 people and are striving to protect as many of their
jobs as possible.

"But the capacity reductions to protect the long-term viability of the
overall Qantas Group means that up to 1250 equivalent full-time positions will
be affected in addition to the management reductions being made," Joyce said.
--BERNAMA