Qantas Airways Ltd. plans to raise as much as A$1.9 billion ($1.3 billion) and cut at least 6,000 jobs as the pandemic that’s halted international travel shows no sign of easing.
The Australian airline will also ground about 100 aircraft for around 12 months, it said in a statement Thursday. The job cuts represent about 20% of the workforce.
The drastic overhaul shows how swiftly fallout from the virus can overrun even one of the world’s strongest airlines. As recently as May, Qantas said it had enough liquidity to hold out until December 2021. Worldwide, airlines are now expected to lose more than $84 billion and see their revenues halve this year alone.
