Qantas is axing 1,750 jobs and slicing an additional AU$300m from its profit forecast as the global financial crisis continues to seriously erode margins. This third round of redundancies bring the number of job losses to 3,000 since July 2008. Meanwhile pre-tax profits at the Australian flag carrier have plummeted from a previous forecast of AU$500m to between AU$100m and AU$200m.

Chief executive Alan Joyce blamed the reductions of “a rapid and significant deterioration of trading conditions in the past few weeks”. "We have no choice but to lower our profit forecast and make major changes to ensure Qantas can weather the current commercial environment,” he added.

The job cuts will include around 500 management positions. It brings the number of job cuts at Qantas to 3,000 since July last year.

“We employ over 34,000 people and we are striving to protect as many of their jobs as possible, but the capacity reductions to protect the long-term viability of the overall Qantas Group mean that up to 1,250 equivalent full-time positions will be affected in addition to the management reductions being made,'' Mr Joyce said.

The group said it is also delaying orders for four Airbus A380s and 12 Boeing 737-800s, and was in talks to defer delivery for other planes. It said it is also grounding the equivalent of 10 aircraft and make them available for sale.

It also said it would reduce capital expenditure by at least AU$800 million in 2009-10 and reduce capacity by a further 5 per cent, on top of reductions of 9 percent announced in 2008.