Flight Centre has become another victim of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the travel industry. The company announced today, in a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange, that they will stand down around 6,000 workers in sales and support roles globally, including 3,800 in Australia.

“We are dealing with unprecedented restrictions and extraordinary circumstances that are having a significant impact on our customers, people, suppliers and all other stakeholders,” said Managing Director Graham Turner.

“Our people have been working tirelessly to help our customers amend their plans, but unfortunately the vast proportion of the work that they would normally undertake has now been stopped. As a result, we have been forced to make extremely difficult decisions, including temporarily standing down some of our people…”

The 3,800 jobs lost from the Australian team represent a 30% cut to the Flight Centre workforce.

The company – which recently announced it would shutter 100 retail stores across the country in the next 12 months, and had suspended shares from trade on the ASX – will “aim to bring them back to work as soon as the current travel bans and trading restrictions are lifted.”

It has also sought additional government support for the stood down employees, including expedited access to benefits and support schemes, in an attempt to limit the impact of the move.

In addition, Flight Centre says they have proactively engaged with a large pool of potential alternative employers in an attempt to secure immediate access to more than 10,000 other sales and call centre vacancies for those employees, who will have the opportunity to return “when conditions improve.”

The announcement comes less than 24 hours after Virgin Australia announced they would stand down 8,000 staff and ground all Tigerair flights indefinitely, and follows a similar move by Qantas late last week.

Flight Centre also announced, in the statement, that they had fast-tracked and extended plans to close store fronts globally, expecting to close around 30% of its Australian outlets in the next few months, due to the likelihood of a prolonged downturn in demand for travel.

“Changes to these plans are likely if market conditions deteriorate further, if restrictions are in place for an extended period or if demand rebounds more rapidly than currently expected.”

The company also announced that they will pause sales and marketing spend and initiate 50% pay reductions for senior executives and board members.