Australian airline
The carrier said it will also ground as many as 100 planes, including most of its international fleet, for up to a year as part of a three-year plan to cut costs by more than
Warning that it will take "years" for international air travel to return to what it was before the coronavirus pandemic,
"We have to position ourselves for several years where revenue will be much lower," he said in a statement. "And that means becoming a smaller airline in the short term."
The job cuts, he added, are especially difficult because
"What makes this even harder is that right before this crisis hit, we were actively recruiting pilots, cabin crew and ground staff," Joyce said. "We're now facing a sudden reversal of fortune that is no one's fault, but is very hard to accept."
In addition to the layoffs and groundings,
Airlines worldwide are expected to lose
Overall bookings this month are down 82 percent compared to last June, as travelers remain reluctant to fly, even with extensive safety precautions and international travel bans, IATA said.
Airlines have responded by trying to raise cash and tapping emergency government funding.
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