Australian airline Qantas is widely expected to cut thousands of jobs as part of its desperate move to slash costs by $2 billion over the next three years.

In December last year, Qantas warned it could report a half-year loss of up to $300 million, which could force it to cut a huge number of jobs. At that time, it pegged the potential job cuts at around 1,000 this year.

Qantas' heavily unionized workforce fears that as many as 6,000 jobs could be slashed. Sources said it would be pleasant surprise if the airline slashes less than 2,000-3,000 jobs. The sources also said that job cuts would likely to include pilots and engineers.

Qantas declined to mention how many jobs would be cut. It just said that a series of unsubstantiated rumours were swirling around ahead of the announcement of half-year results.

But, it is being taken for granted that the airline will cut a huge number of jobs. When contacted, an analyst said, "If they are going to cut costs, jobs will be a big part of that."

The looming job cuts come as Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce is leading a high-stakes lobbying campaign to push the Abbott government to provide financial assistance to the cash-strapped airline.