An extreme offer has been made to over 300 Qantas engineering staff in a bid to save jobs.

The maintenance workers have been asked to take three months unpaid leave while the business tries to weather a financial storm.

Reports say The Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association has spoken to its members at Qantas’ Avalon maintenance facility, trying to convince them to adopt the radical new plan.

The deal from the airline calls for so-called 'white periods', during which workers would stay away, and there would be no planes at the base to service. The plan has already been put to Qantas management by the union.

The company says it is conducting a review of its Avalon maintenance operation, which some industry observers have said may result in the closure of the facility.

The potential closure would mean 300 more jobs would be lost in a sector already forcing many into unemployment through cut-backs and cost-saving.

Qantas has reportedly questioned how the union's proposal seeks to solve the problem, but it has not yet made a decision about the future of the maintenance base.