Qantas was fined A$90 million by an Australian court for illegally sacking about 1,700 ground workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Federal Court Justice Michael Lee said in the judgement that he wanted the fine to act as a “real deterrence” to other employers. Australia’s Transport Workers’ Union said it welcomed the ruling, which it said marked the largest employer penalty in the country’s history.
Australia’s biggest airline has faced a years-long legal battle over its decision in 2020 to outsource its ground operations staff, which it said was a necessary financial measure as the aviation industry came to a standstill during the pandemic.
Qantas was ordered by the court to pay A$50 million of the penalty directly to the transport workers’ union, which had sued the airline over the layoffs. The penalty is on top of A$120 million of compensation that Qantas had agreed to pay to laid off workers in 2024, after losing multiple appeals in court.
Qantas Group Chief Executive Officer Vanessa Hudson said in a statement after the ruling: “We sincerely apologise to each and every one of the 1,820 ground handling employees and to their families who suffered as a result. 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. The impact was felt not only by those who lost their jobs, but by our entire workforce. Over the past 18 months we’ve worked hard to change the way we operate as part of our efforts to rebuild trust with our people and our customers. This remains our highest priority as we work to earn back the trust we lost.”
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