There is not much Christmas cheer for Qantas from the public or its staff after the airline was slammed for being a Grinch.
It sent a communication to head office staff seeking ‘volunteers’ to man front-line positions during the busy holiday period.
That sparked a spate of disparaging social media posts from customers and anger from unions.
Netizens took to Twitter to vent at the airline which made almost $1 billion last year and paid CEO Alan Joyce $25 million.
The leaked memo said: "We are trialling a new volunteer program for out campus-based people to lend a hand to the front line."
Qantas defended the move, saying ‘it is not about cutting costs, this is about spreading a bit of Christmas cheer.’
The Australian Services Union saw it a different way, describing it as a ‘shocking display of corporate greed.’
