Qantas considers moving Sydney head office to save costs

Qantas is considering relocating its 49,000m2 head office in a Sydney suburb as part of a three-month cost-saving review of the location of some of its key facilities. The carrier, which spends A$40m a year on renting office space, is also looking at options for Jetstar’s leased head office in the Collingwood suburb of Melbourne, to which it relocated from Sydney in 2004. “The Qantas Group is reviewing the location of its key facilities as part of its recovery plan and efforts to cut overheads – which may result in bringing together several facilities, currently spread across Australia, in one state,” the airline said Monday. While the review will focus on “non-aviation facilities”, some aviation facilities will be considered for possible relocation, it adds. These include flight simulator centres in Sydney and Melbourne, as well as Qantas’ heavy maintenance facilities in Brisbane – “particularly if there was an opportunity to bring some or all of these facilities together elsewhere in Australia”. Qantas says any relocations are likely to be staggered over time, “potentially years”, depending on what options it takes up. The review “flows” from already announced job losses, the “need for more efficiencies and setting the group up for the future”, Qantas says. It has no intention of moving any facilities overseas.<br/>