Australian airline Qantas has confirmed 2,000 ground staff will lose their jobs after a cost-cutting decision to outsource the majority of its ground-handling operations, reports news.com.au. The airline has revealed 2,000 baggage handling jobs will be permanently axed across 10 Australian airports as part of its operational overhaul to ensure that it can remain in the skies beyond the coronavirus pandemic. The announcement brings the total job losses at Qantas to about 8,500 of its 29,000 pre-pandemic workforce. The Transport Workers’ Union said it was a “dark day” for the industry and will force more families to face the grim prospect of joining the Centrelink queue (unemployment payments). In a press conference today, TWU national secretary Michael Kaine said the decision was a not a “COVID response” and contradicted Qantas’s obligations under the federal government’s JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme. “There is no benefit to the Australian community when taxpayers spend billions only to result in workers in good jobs being thrown on the scrap heap,” Kaine said. The aviation industry worldwide has been financially hit by the Covid-19 pandemic which has led to job cuts and the collapse of airline companies.