Ansett Airlines Employees: A Preliminary Survey of Post-Retrenchment Outcomes

Abstract

The events following the collapse of Ansett Airlines in September 2001 provide an opportunity to explore the impact of internal labour markets on post-retrenchment labour market outcomes. This paper traces the labour market experiences of a sample of 649 former Ansett Airlines employees in the first eleven months after the airline's initial closure. It reveals that many workers spent long periods in an employment limbo ’ officially ‘stood down’ but not retrenched ’ while waiting for their Ansett jobs to be resurrected under new ownership. During that time, many accepted fragmented, short-term placements in ‘bad’ jobs. After this initial period of uncertainty, however, many former Ansett empl..