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From ninemsn

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=90539

Qantas believes a maintenance restructure which will cost at least 340 jobs has averted any threat of any industrial action in the lead-up to the Melbourne Commonwealth Games.

But the airline has refused to rule out moving jobs offshore in the future.

Qantas announced it would cut 480 jobs with the closure of the Sydney B747 maintenance operations in May, with the work to be shifted to its Victorian facilities rather than sending the operations overseas.

The airline has said staff redeployment could reduce the number of job losses to about 340 if workers transferred from Sydney.

Unions had been concerned Qantas would send 2,500 maintenance jobs offshore to China, and had threatened industrial action which could have affected the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne starting next week.

Qantas chief executive Geoff Dixon met union leaders and later told reporters he could not predict whether there would now be union action, but said he did not anticipate any.

He described the tone of the meetings as "very co-operative and very sensible".