Qantas is cutting approximately 850 Australian jobs as part of a multi-year partnership with Accenture to overhaul its back-office operations through artificial intelligence and automation.
The restructuring, which involves shifting some corporate functions to Accenture teams based primarily in India, is intended to modernise the airline’s legacy systems. Qantas chief executive Vanessa Hudson said the move is necessary to keep pace with industry changes.
Accenture partnership targets corporate functions
The airline’s plan to modernise its back-end systems, processes and data
involves a partnership with the professional services firm to address more than 1,000 legacy applications, according to Nine. Hudson noted that these applications were built over decades for a different era and were never designed to function together.
The first phase of the restructuring will impact staff in finance, procurement, human resources, and marketing. While much of the affected work is expected to move to India, the airline noted that some services will be retained in Australia, Yahoo reported. The cuts represent about 3% of Qantas’ Australian workforce of 28,000.
Hudson explained the necessity of the partnership in an internal note to staff, stating:
Reinvention at this scale is not possible to do on our own, and through a partner we can access the data and AI skills that every industry in the world is competing for, because we cannot hire at the pace this work needs,
Vanessa Hudson, Qantas chief executive
The airline expects the first changes to take effect by midway through next year, with the restructuring expected to be completed by the middle of 2027, The Guardian reported, according to Theguardian. The program, known internally as Project iQ, was previously reported as potentially involving the offshoring of up to 1,000 Australian roles.
Union disputes previous offshoring assurances
The announcement has drawn sharp criticism from the Australian Services Union (ASU). Scott Cowen, the ASU assistant national secretary, noted that the union had been told in August that there was no plan to offshore Australian jobs, Information Age reported.
Earlier this year, Qantas told us directly there was no plan to offshore any jobs,
Cowen said, adding that the company has now informed staff that work will be delivered mostly from people overseas,
Nine reported. He further stated that Qantas staff have the right to an explanation.
Cowen argued that the cost of technological transition should not be carried by long-term employees and stated:
Qantas will cut around 850 jobs in the next few years after signing a deal with technology consulting company Accenture that will see various corporate functions outsourced to India, reports Robyn Ironside: https://t.co/4Hy4AbECzE pic.twitter.com/5B9suBiLVi
Sending more jobs overseas is not in the spirit of Australia.
Scott Cowen, ASU assistant national secretary
Hudson addressed the impact on the workforce, saying:
We know this will be difficult news for some of our people and this decision is not a reflection of their contribution or commitment.
Vanessa Hudson, Qantas chief executive
To mitigate the impact, the airline said it will look to redeploy as many people as possible through retraining and reskilling, including the creation of new roles within Australia, Nine reported. Hudson also noted that the company would consult with affected employees and unions over the coming months.
Investment in technology and AI
The job cuts come as Qantas continues to invest heavily in its technological infrastructure. The airline invests more than $1 billion in technology each year, which includes operations at its Qantas Product Innovation Centre in Adelaide, Information Age reported. The partnership with Accenture will involve developing AI tools to support workers and using capabilities like agentic AI to optimize tasks.
Hudson emphasized that the airline cannot afford to remain stagnant, telling staff that standing still is not an option for us.
She noted that the scale of change in the technology and AI sectors is unprecedented, Nine reported.
The restructuring follows a period of broader corporate shifts in Australia. The airline is also facing pressure from elevated fuel costs linked to conflict in the Middle East, which led to recent reductions in flight capacity. Across just three companies – NAB with 2,500 roles, Canva with 1,200, and Qantas with 850 – about 4,550 corporate jobs have been targeted for cuts, relocations or restructuring in the past month.
>