Post by corsair67 on Jun 2, 2006 10:03:36 GMT 12
I hope this isn't a sign of the good old days of Air NZ hamfisted management coming back into play? I thought Ralph had sorted all this out before he left to take over running the Commonwealth Bank? ;D
Union attack over Air NZ's staff cuts
Steve Creedy
June 02, 2006.
AIR New Zealand is scaling back its Australian workforce and has angered union officials by demanding a response to its plans within a week.
The Australian Services Union has urged staff to meet to consider their options over what it describes as a "vicious and uncompromising attack on the jobs of loyal staff".
An Air NZ spokeswoman last night confirmed the company was restructuring its Australian airport operations after re-signing Qantas as its ground handler.
She said the proposed restructure would reduce staff from 71 to 58 and the airline was seeking staff feedback.
ASU assistant national secretary Linda White said she believed more cuts would come. She said the airline had been planning the cuts for months but was demanding a response to its plans within a week.
The airline's move followed its decision to outsource its travel centre and was believed to affect staff at Cairns, Coolangatta, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.
Air NZ had also demanded that duty managers who were union members reapply for their jobs but was not applying the same criteria to contract staff. "We're pretty unhappy about that and it's divided people in some places," Ms White said.
The complaints follow increased speculation that Air NZ will suffer a further full-year profit slump after the release of an investor newsletter.
The Kiwi carrier provided no further profit guidance beyond comments in November that it expected pre-tax profit before abnormals for the year to June 30 to be $NZ140 million ($120 million), down from $NZ235 million.
However, it indicated that the market had enough information to make its own determination of expectations. New Zealand analysts are now predicting a profit as low as $NZ105 million.
"The company has noted that some analysts have used the available company disclosures and publicly available information, such as oil prices, to reduce their earnings forecast below the company's earlier guidance," Air NZ said in a monthly investor update.
"These reductions are consistent with the fact that average jet fuel prices have increased from $US72 per barrel in the first half to $US78 per barrel in the second half of this financial year."
The update showed passenger numbers for March-April were up 2.4 per cent to 2.16 million but load factors fell 2.5 percentage points to 73.3 per cent.
The number of passengers carried across the Tasman and to Pacific islands rose 1.5 per cent to 497,000 with a slight improvement in load factors.
Air NZ shelved underperforming routes to Taipei and Nagoya in March. It has also suspended its Christchurch-Los Angeles service.
On the plus side, it is bringing in new aircraft, adding five Boeing 777-200ERs so far this year, and has revamped its in-flight offerings.
Union attack over Air NZ's staff cuts
Steve Creedy
June 02, 2006.
AIR New Zealand is scaling back its Australian workforce and has angered union officials by demanding a response to its plans within a week.
The Australian Services Union has urged staff to meet to consider their options over what it describes as a "vicious and uncompromising attack on the jobs of loyal staff".
An Air NZ spokeswoman last night confirmed the company was restructuring its Australian airport operations after re-signing Qantas as its ground handler.
She said the proposed restructure would reduce staff from 71 to 58 and the airline was seeking staff feedback.
ASU assistant national secretary Linda White said she believed more cuts would come. She said the airline had been planning the cuts for months but was demanding a response to its plans within a week.
The airline's move followed its decision to outsource its travel centre and was believed to affect staff at Cairns, Coolangatta, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.
Air NZ had also demanded that duty managers who were union members reapply for their jobs but was not applying the same criteria to contract staff. "We're pretty unhappy about that and it's divided people in some places," Ms White said.
The complaints follow increased speculation that Air NZ will suffer a further full-year profit slump after the release of an investor newsletter.
The Kiwi carrier provided no further profit guidance beyond comments in November that it expected pre-tax profit before abnormals for the year to June 30 to be $NZ140 million ($120 million), down from $NZ235 million.
However, it indicated that the market had enough information to make its own determination of expectations. New Zealand analysts are now predicting a profit as low as $NZ105 million.
"The company has noted that some analysts have used the available company disclosures and publicly available information, such as oil prices, to reduce their earnings forecast below the company's earlier guidance," Air NZ said in a monthly investor update.
"These reductions are consistent with the fact that average jet fuel prices have increased from $US72 per barrel in the first half to $US78 per barrel in the second half of this financial year."
The update showed passenger numbers for March-April were up 2.4 per cent to 2.16 million but load factors fell 2.5 percentage points to 73.3 per cent.
The number of passengers carried across the Tasman and to Pacific islands rose 1.5 per cent to 497,000 with a slight improvement in load factors.
Air NZ shelved underperforming routes to Taipei and Nagoya in March. It has also suspended its Christchurch-Los Angeles service.
On the plus side, it is bringing in new aircraft, adding five Boeing 777-200ERs so far this year, and has revamped its in-flight offerings.
