“It has gone on way too long, everything has been dragged out, the people who work at Qantas don’t know whether they’re coming or going,” said Mr [Ian Sherwood], 49, a father of two who has been proud to work for the flying kangaroo for the past 19 years as a transport worker in the catering division, taking food and equipment out to the aircrafts.

LIKE thousands of other Qantas employees, Ian Sherwood has been watching the takeover bid for the airline with a growing sense of dread.

Many institutional investors have already accepted because of the high price and uncertainty over the sale. On a purely financial basis, many shareholders believe it to be a good deal.

But this is not the case for many Qantas employees, who have a deep emotional attachment to the country’s flagship carrier and serious concerns about their own futures. Their fear is that Airline Partners Australia will strip the company of its assets, including staff.

“It has gone on way too long, everything has been dragged out, the people who work at Qantas don’t know whether they’re coming or going,” said Mr Sherwood, 49, a father of two who has been proud to work for the flying kangaroo for the past 19 years as a transport worker in the catering division, taking food and equipment out to the aircrafts.

“People are worried. It is affecting staff; the takeover is all people think about, all they talk about. They are still doing their jobs, but they are all worried for their futures.

“Most workers are against it, even hostile, because they fear for the future. There is not a single worker who says it’s a good thing, not one.”

Qantas has been giving out packets of shares as employee bonuses since privatisation in 1995, and Mr Sherwood now has about 2000 shares. He will be forced to sell if APA acquires more than 90 per cent of the company, but would rather keep them.