Updated
Aeroplane manufacturer Boeing will cut up to 300 jobs from its Port Melbourne plant by the end of the year.
The company says it has reached full production rates and no longer needs all of its staff.
Boeing says most of the redundancies will be fixed-term contractors.
"This was always our intention when the company's aircraft programs stabilised at full production rates," Boeing spokesman Chaz Bickers said in a statement.
"Reducing employment on these programs is a natural part of the manufacturing cycle.
"However, we will work to minimise the overall number [of redundancies] through natural attrition and by not filling open positions.
"We will continue to hire for the critical skills to meet our delivery commitments, and are taking steps to make existing contractors full-time employees where possible."
The Port Melbourne plant employs 1,300 people.
The Manufacturing Workers Union's Craig Kelly says the cuts are not a sign the business is in decline.
"I believe it's a cyclic part of their operations where they have been setting up their manufacturing plant in Port Melbourne," he said.
"So it doesn't appear to be any sort of decline, it doesn't appear to have an effect on the operations at the Port Melbourne site."
The announcement comes after oil giant BP yesterday said it would shut its Bulwer Island refinery in Brisbane and cut more than 300 staff by 2015.
Another 180 workers from tobacco company Philip Morris also found out they would lose their jobs yesterday, after the company announced it would move production to Korea.
Brendan O'Connor, the Opposition spokesman on employment, says the Government needs to focus on keeping jobs in Australia.
"They need to rethink this, re-engage with the manufacturing sector and make sure they create the environment for jobs to stay in this country," he said.
"We do not want to see any more jobs lost."
Mr O'Connor fears with the job losses at Qantas, there will be fewer opportunities for the Boeing workers.
"No-one's pretending you can create jobs out of nothing," he said.
"But it is clear that if a government not focused on jobs and focused on supporting our industries and ensuring jobs remain in this country then you see a bleaker future for Australian workers in this sector and other sectors of our economy."
Topics: manufacturing, business-economics-and-finance, air-transport, industry, port-melbourne-3207, vic, australia
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