By XAVIER SMERDON
ALMOST 200 Wyndham families’ futures are hanging in the balance with the announcement that Qantas could shed a valuable western suburbs employment hub.
Australia’s largest airline announced earlier this month that it will be undertaking a 60 day review of its heavy maintenance operations.
Avalon Airport is home to one of the airline’s three heavy maintenance bases, with the other two located in Tullamarine and Brisbane.
Around 25 per cent of the 660 employees at the Avalon base live in Wyndham, meaning around 165 Wyndham residents could find themselves out of a job.
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said a lack of work meant that the bases could be consolidated into two or one.
“With aircraft retirements, there is simply not enough heavy maintenance work to justify the three facilities in Melbourne, Brisbane and Avalon,” Mr Joyce said.
“Preserving the status quo in the short term would only risk the business over the long term. We have no plan to move operations offshore but we need to consolidate our activities in Australia.”
CEO of Avalon Airport, Justin Giddings, said in an email sent to all stakeholders, and obtained by Star, that the loss of the base at Avalon would be detrimental to Wyndham and Geelong workers.
“Qantas’ withdrawal from Avalon would have a very significant effect on the western region economy and Geelong in particular, and indeed the viability of the airport”, Mr Giddings said in the email.
An Avalon employee, who did not want to be identified, said he worried about his family’s future.
“At this stage we don’t know what the go is,” the employee said.
“It’s terrifying. I’ve got three kids to feed and if I lose my job I don’t know how we’ll survive.”
Mr Giddings went on to say that if the bases were consolidated into one, Avalon should remain.
CEO of Leadwest, Anton Mayer, told Star if any of the bases are closed, Avalon should not only stay but grow.
“Obviously we don’t want that to close, and if it did it would have a major impact on Wyndham,” Mr Mayer said.
