ASU Blasts Greed-Driven Job Cuts as Qantas Profits Soar to $1.46 Billion

Australian Services Union Media Release 26 February 2026

The Australian Services Union (ASU) has labelled Qantas’ announcement of a $1.46 billion pre-tax half-year profit as a greed-driven betrayal of its workforce, coming as the airline simultaneously moves to cut experienced head-office staff.

Despite posting a result up $71 million on the previous half year earnings, Qantas is proposing a round of redundancies that the union warns will further damage the airline’s reputation.

Speaking in response to this announcement, ASU Assistant National Secretary Scott Cowen said:

“We’re disappointed that Qantas has announced further redundancies at the same time they are unveiling a massive $1.46 billion profit.

“It is the height of corporate greed to boast about billion-dollar earnings to the market while showing the door to the very people who delivered those results.

“While we are working with the airline and hope that our next round of discussions will lead to better outcomes, we are frustrated that we’ve had to drag Qantas back to the negotiating table to protect our members’ jobs. 

“Qantas has taken a profits first, workers last approach to everything it does, announcing job cuts first and consulting stakeholders later.

“They need to change their approach and work with unions and members from the outset to protect the well-being of their staff.

“The airline has a documented history of outsourcing and offshoring Australian jobs. This week’s job losses follow last year’s decision to outsource freight operations at Western Sydney Airport.

“At a time of strong profits, Qantas should be backing Australian workers and skills, not cutting local jobs while expanding offshore operations.”

“This pattern of cutting local expertise to juice the bottom line is what leads to the service chaos and delays that travellers have sadly come to expect from the airline.

“Any move to replace skilled head-office staff with automation or AI without rigorous testing and worker consultation risks further damaging the airline’s operational capacity. You cannot automate the decades of experience that our members bring to keeping this airline running.

“Our priority right now is ensuring that Qantas values its current people and adopts our proposal to keep them in their jobs. We met with the airline yesterday, and will be continuing these discussions throughout the week to demand that Qantas put its record profits to work by investing in its people rather than cutting them.”