Qantas to cut 480 maintenance jobs

SYDNEY: Qantas Airways Ltd, the world's ninth largest airline by market value, will close its Sydney heavy maintenance base by May, resulting in about 480 job losses, to help lower costs amid higher fuel prices. 

The Australian carrier said it would move heavy maintenance of its Boeing 747 fleet to Avalon, in Australia's Victoria state, where the airline had recently negotiated productivity reforms with its workforce so it could compete with offshore options.