Qantas moving quickly on job cuts

Qantas says most of its 5,000 job cuts will be made well ahead of the completion of its four-year cost-saving program.

Qantas says most of its 5,000 job cuts will be made before the end of its cost-saving program. (AAP)

Qantas will have cut 2,200 staff by the end of June, and plans to have nearly all of its 5,000 cuts completed 12 months later.

The airline's $2 billion cost saving program is due to end in the 2016/17 financial year, but an update from chief executive Alan Joyce on Thursday reveals most job cuts will be made well ahead of that date.

By the end of June, 1,000 Qantas management will have gone, as well as 1,200 staff from its engineering, catering, freight and air and ground crews, he told a business conference.

About $800 million in savings is expected to have been made by June 30, 2015, he said.

The company plans to shed another 1,800 staff in the 2014/15 financial year, including 500 management positions, taking total job losses to 4,000 by the end of June 2015, Mr Joyce said.

That leaves a target of 1,000 job losses in the following two years.

Of the airline's total job losses, 1,500 are to come from management, as its head office is restructured to improve efficiency, Mr Joyce said.

Those redundancies are expected to cost $165 million, but will deliver $175 million in cost savings each year, he said.

A critical goal of Qantas' overhaul is to improve its credit profile, which was downgraded by ratings agencies after it revealed in December it would post a half year loss of up to $300 million.

The airline plans to have reduced its debt by at least $1 billion by the end of June 2015, through asset sales, reduced investment and a reduction in its fleet size, Mr Joyce said.

Qantas shares gained 2.5 cents to $1.245.