Qantas cuts hundreds of jobs amid record profits

Qantas Airways (ASX:QAN) headquarters is tense as hundreds of employees await official notification regarding their future with the national carrier.

Following a restructuring plan signaled late last year, the airline is moving forward with a major integration of its QantasLink regional operations and domestic division under a single management stream.

While domestic boss Markus Svensson is tapped to lead the merged entity, the transition has already claimed several high-profile casualties; senior executives Catriona Larritt, Andrew Walduck, and David Kondo are among those confirmed to depart.

The timing of the job cuts has drawn significant attention, coming just one week before Qantas is expected to unveil a bumper profit for the first half of the 2026 financial year.

While the airline maintains that the consolidation is necessary for operational efficiency, the juxtaposition of mass redundancies and surging financial success is likely to spark renewed debate over the carrier's corporate priorities.

At the time of reporting, Qantas' share price was $10.74.