News

Qantas ‘working through’ impact of job cuts on marketing

QantasThe direct impact on the marketing department after today’s announcement by airline Qantas that it would cut 5,000 jobs remains unclear, with the airline saying it is currently “working through” the impact of the changes on its various divisions.

Qantas today announced a before tax loss of $252 million for the six months to 31 December 2013, with CEO Alan Joyce conceding that the losses were both “unacceptable and unsustainable”.

In a statement to Mumbrella a spokeswoman for Qantas said the direct impact on the airlines marketing department along with various other divisions is not yet known, but admitted there would be a reduction of some 1,500 non operational staff. “We have confirmed a reduction of management and non-operational roles by 1,500 across the Qantas Group over the next three years and we are working through this,” she said. 

The cuts mean Qantas will be forced to reduce capital expenditure by $1bn over two years and may sell up to 50 of its aircraft in an attempt to stem the problem.

Today’s major cuts come only two months after Qantas announced it would cut some 1,000 jobs and review its spending with its top 100 suppliers.

Qantas has recently restructured its marketing team while last year it was reported to have spent $7.9m on media, down 40 per cent on its 2011 expenditure.

Some of the airline’s agencies are likely to be in the top 100 suppliers, with its retained list including media agency ZenithOptimedia, lead creative agency Droga5 while its other retained agencies include R/GA, Razorfish, 303Lowe, Play, Houston, Hulsbosch, Wonder and The Hallway.

Nic Christensen 

ADVERTISEMENT

Get the latest media and marketing industry news (and views) direct to your inbox.

Sign up to the free Mumbrella newsletter now.

 

SUBSCRIBE

Sign up to our free daily update to get the latest in media and marketing.