Australia’s largest airline, Qantas, is planning to cut around 850 corporate roles over the coming years under a new outsourcing agreement with global technology consultancy Accenture, with many of the affected services expected to be delivered by teams in India.
The changes will begin in finance, procurement, people and marketing, with the first phase expected to take effect by mid-2027.
As per reports, Qantas chief executive Vanessa Hudson informed staff of the decision in an email on Tuesday, describing it as “hard news for some” and apologising for the uncertainty it would create.
She said the partnership was aimed at modernising the technology behind the airline’s operations, improving efficiency and responding to rapid changes in artificial intelligence (AI).
“The scale and speed of change in technology and AI is something none of us have seen in our lifetime,” Ms Hudson wrote.
“It is changing what our customers expect from us and what you need from the tools you use every day, and leading businesses around the world, in aviation and beyond, are moving quickly. Standing still is not an option for us.”
Under the multi-year agreement, some services currently handled by Qantas corporate teams will move to Accenture, with most work to be delivered by its teams in India and some in Australia.
The airline said the partnership would redesign and simplify parts of its corporate functions, with automation and AI expected to transform some services further over time.
“We expect around 850 roles to be affected over the coming years, with the first changes expected to be in place by mid-2027,” Ms Hudson said.
She added that the decision was not a reflection of employees’ contributions or commitment and said Qantas would seek to redeploy as many affected staff as possible.
“We need to reinvent the processes, platforms and data behind our business so we can innovate faster and deliver a better, more connected experience for our customers and our people.”
Qantas said the partnership builds on its existing technology investment of more than $1 billion annually. The airline also pointed to its new Product Innovation Centre in Adelaide, which is expected to grow to more than 400 roles.
The company said it operates more than 1,000 legacy applications that were developed over decades and were not designed to work together.
Modernising these systems and connecting data, it said, would help simplify operations and accelerate the airline’s use of AI.
The announcement has drawn criticism from the Australian Services Union (ASU), which said it was meeting with Qantas members following the news.
ASU Assistant National Secretary Scott Cowen said the union had been discussing the proposed partnership with the airline for months and was surprised by the extent of the planned outsourcing.
“We were told at the time that there was no plan for 1,000 jobs to be offshored and yet today staff have been told by Vanessa Hudson that up to 850 jobs could be sent offshore,” Mr Cowen said.
“So this is really shocking news for our members.”
He said the union would work with employees to fight for every job, adding that most of the proposed cuts were expected to affect positions based in Sydney.
“We’ve seen time and time again through corporate Australia deals with global tech giants like Accenture suddenly there seems to be a mass need to be sending jobs offshore.”
Qantas has disputed claims that it assured the union no jobs would be moved overseas. The airline said it had discussed the potential for some roles to move to Accenture teams in India and Australia during meetings with the union in recent months.
It said there would be consultation with affected employees and the union, with a focus on redeployment opportunities, reskilling and retraining.
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