The Latest: Qantas furloughs 2,500 staff amid lockdown

 Australia’s Qantas Group says it expects Sydney’s COVID-19 lockdown to last for at least another two months and it will furlough 2,500 staff due to an associated downturn in domestic flights

SYDNEY — Australia's Qantas Group says it expects Sydney’s COVID-19 lockdown to last for at least another two months and it will furlough 2,500 staff due to an associated downturn in domestic flights. Sydney and Brisbane, Australia’s biggest and third-biggest cities respectively, are in lockdown due to growing clusters of the delta variant. Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said Tuesday that 2,500 staff from Qantas Airways and budget subsidiary Jetstar would be furloughed for an estimated two months. The airlines employ 26,000 staff in Australia. Joyce said that based on current daily tallies of new infections, “it’s reasonable to assume that Sydney’s borders will be closed for at least another two months.”