IT waits as Qantas cuts jobs

HUNDREDS of IT workers at Qantas will be on tenterhooks over the next few weeks as the airline identifies which positions to axe in a worldwide cull of more than 4 per cent of its workforce.

Last week, Qantas announced plans to cut 1500 jobs and shelved plans to hire another 1200 as it battled spiralling fuel costs.

Qantas chief executive Geoff Dixon said the impact would largely be in non-operational areas. About 20 per cent of management and head office support roles would be on the line.

Call centres in Tucson, Arizona and London, will be shut, cutting 99 jobs.

The airline has yet to release specific details and a company spokesman said it could not confirm whether IT staff would be affected.

Recruitment agencies report that Qantas has slapped a hiring freeze on ICT jobs.

"It's still early days," an airline spokesman said. "We'll sit down with staff and see what needs to be done. At the moment there is no exact date as to when that will be completed."

In a recent interview, Qantas chief information officer Jamila Gordon said the IT department consisted of about 712 people.

Qantas has 36,000 staff globally. If it requires all divisions to slash positions by more than 4 per cent, in line with its restructuring regime, about 30 technology jobs could go.

However, Mr Dixon said, the company would use various tactics to cut staff, including voluntary redundancy, early retirement, leave without pay, an accelerated leave program and converting positions from full-time to part-time.

The massive overhaul of the Qantas human resources and finance systems, dubbed eQ, was unlikely to be affected, Ms Gordon said, as full installation would be completed this month.

"Human resources is up and running, Oracle Financials is in production for Jetstar and the regional airlines and the rollout of financials to the rest of the group will take place in July," she said.

Qantas is also piloting a program to replace paper customer service forms with BlackBerry devices, having acquired 400 units for cabin crew.

Large chunks of the carrier's IT infrastructure and applications are managed by outsourcing partners such as Telstra, Satyam and Tata Consultancy Services.