Mon Aug 18 06:00:34 UTC 2025: Here’s a summary and a news article based on the provided text:

**Summary:**

Australian airline Qantas has been fined AUD 90 million ($59 million) for illegally firing over 1,800 ground staff at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. This is in addition to AUD 120 million ($78 million) already agreed to be paid as compensation. The Federal Court Justice Michael Lee called the outsourcing of jobs the “largest and most significant contravention” of Australian labor laws in 120 years. The Transport Workers Union (TWU) initiated the lawsuit. The judge criticized Qantas’s lack of sincerity in its apology. Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson expressed her apology, but the judge questioned the airline’s actions regarding compensation. Of the fine, AUD 50 million ($33 million) will go to the TWU. This ruling marks a significant victory for the union and sends a message to employers against illegal workforce treatment.

**News Article:**

**Qantas Hit with $59 Million Fine for Illegal Layoffs, Union Hails “Most Significant” Victory**

**Melbourne, Australia – August 18, 2025** – Qantas Airways has been slapped with a AUD 90 million ($59 million) fine by the Australian Federal Court for illegally terminating the employment of over 1,800 ground staff at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The penalty follows a previous agreement by Qantas to pay AUD 120 million ($78 million) in compensation to the affected workers.

Justice Michael Lee, presiding over the case, described the outsourcing of baggage handler and cleaner jobs in late 2020 as the “largest and most significant contravention” of Australian labor laws in the nation’s history. The Transport Workers Union (TWU) brought the case against Qantas, arguing for the maximum possible fine.

“If any further evidence was needed of the unrelenting and aggressive litigation strategy adopted in this case by Qantas, it is provided by this effort directed to denying any compensation whatsoever to those in respect of whom Qantas was publicly professing regret for their misfortune,” the Justice said.

Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson, who served as CFO during the layoffs, issued a statement expressing apologies. “We sincerely apologise to each and every one of the 1,820 ground handling employees and to their families who suffered as a result,” she said.

The court has allocated AUD 50 million ($33 million) of the fine to the TWU, recognising their crucial role in bringing Qantas’s illegal conduct to light. A later hearing will determine the distribution of the remaining AUD 40 million ($26 million).

“But for the union … , Qantas’ contravening conduct would never have been exposed and it would never have been held to account for its unlawful conduct,” Mr. Lee added.

Michael Kaine, the TWU’s national secretary, hailed the ruling as a landmark victory. “It is a significant — the most significant — industrial outcome in Australia’s history and it sends a really clear message to Qantas and to every employer in Australia: Treat your work force illegally and you will be held accountable,” Kaine told reporters.

The airline also agreed to pay AUD 120 million ($78 million) in compensation and a fine for selling tickets on thousands of cancelled flights.

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