Qantas hit with record fine for illegal pandemic layoffs

Australian carrier Qantas has been fined a record A$90m ($59m) for illegally sacking more than 1,800 ground workers during the pandemic. Australian Federal Court Justice Michael Lee said the outsourcing of 1,820 baggage handler and cleaner jobs at Australian airports in late 2020 was the “largest and most significant contravention” of relevant Australian labour laws in their 120-year history. Lee said that he wanted the fine to act as a “real deterrence” to other employers. “We sincerely apologise to each and every one of the 1,820 ground handling employees and to their families who suffered as a result,” Qantas Group chief executive Vanessa Hudson said. “The decision to outsource five years ago, particularly during such an uncertain time, caused genuine hardship for many of our former team and their families.”