Qantas has completed a review of its heavy aircraft maintenance and engineering operations in Australia and will consolidate heavy maintenance work into Brisbane and Avalon. The restructure is necessary as there is currently not enough heavy maintenance work required for three separate facilities and the introduction of new technology and modern aircraft means there will be a further 60% reduction in heavy maintenance requirements over the next seven years. As a result of the restructure, heavy maintenance on Boeing 737 aircraft will move from Tullamarine and be maintained in Brisbane along with B767 aircraft and Airbus A330s. The base at Avalon will continue to maintain Boeing 747s. It will also conduct some work on B737s and B767s, some aircraft reconfiguration work and remain available for one-off maintenace tasks. Qantas will cease heavy maintenance at Tullamarine by August, however line maintenance will continue to be conducted at the facility employing more than 300 people.
Qantas undertook a two-month consultation with unions, employees and other stakeholders to discuss the challenges of having three sub-optimal heavy maintenance bases and options the company was considering. There will be a net reduction of 500 positions as a result of the restructure (Qantas will still employ over 30,000 people in Australia, and around 5,000 in Qantas Engineering). There will be a reduction of 422 positions at Tullamarine. At Avalon, 113 positions will no longer be required due to the recent retirements of five 747 aircraft this year.
