Qantas considers offshore option

Australian airline Qantas could transfer as many as 7,000 jobs out of its home country as it seeks to save costs, according to newspaper reports.

Chief executive Geoff Dixon was quoted by The Australian newspaper as saying the carrier could no longer afford to remain "all-Australian". Unions criticised the possible move - which may affect cabin and maintenance staff - saying Qantas was profitable. More than 90% of the airline's staff are based in Australia.

Qantas confirmed it was looking at whether it might recruit and source products overseas - potentially through joint ventures - but said it would continue to create jobs in Australia.

Despite making a record Australian dollars 648m ($492m) profit last year, Qantas has argued that it needs to make considerable savings if it is to remain competitive. "We're going to have to get the lowest cost structure we can and that willmean sourcing things more and more from overseas," the newspaper quoted Qantas chief executive Geoff Dixon as saying. Early this year, Qantas increased the number of flight attendants based in London from 370 to 870. If Qantas were to follow the lead of other airlines moving staff 'offshore' 7,000 jobs could shift overseas, the newspaper reported. In a statement, Qantas said it was looking to build its operations overseas. However, it stressed this would not result in large scale redundancies in its home market, where most of its 35,000 staff are employed. "We are totally committed to continuing to grow jobs in Australia," Mr Dixon said. "We are, however, operating in a global market and there is no room for complacency simply because we are currently profitable and successful."

Unions reacted angrily to the reported disclosure, arguing that Qantas was profitable and did not need to take such action. "We could understand if Qantas was a struggling airline about to go under," Michael Mijatov, international division secretary of the Flight Attendants Association, told Agence France Presse. "Qantas announced a record profit last year and is on course this year for an even greater profit so it is totally unnecessary." In an effort to meet the challenge posed by low cost carriers, Qantas sought a tie-up with Air New Zealand last year However, the deal was thrown out by the New Zealand High Court on competition grounds.