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Through a partnership with labour hire company Programmed, BHP is hiring newly unemployed workers who lost their jobs with companies including Qantas, Virgin and Monadelphous due to COVID-19 cutbacks, on short-term contracts to help with operations.

Many of the former airline workers have already started at airports helping with health screening of the company's fly in, fly out workers.

BHP group procurement officer Sundeep Singh said the company's strong labour hire and service partnerships allowed an almost immediate start of the short-term employment opportunities.

"These are uncertain times for our communities and the economy, and we have an important role to play through this crisis," he said.

Programmed skilled workforce CEO Nic Fairbank said working together with industry had never been more important.