Qantas Airways will eliminate 850 corporate jobs in Australia and shift core functions to Accenture under an artificial intelligence overhaul, with the first wave of reductions slated for completion by mid-2027.
Qantas Cuts 3% of Australian Workforce
The airline’s initial phase targets finance, procurement, human resources, and marketing operations. Chief Executive Vanessa Hudson informed employees on Tuesday that the cuts represent about 3% of the carrier’s 28,000-strong Australian workforce, while noting that total global employment sits at 32,000.
Qantas employs about 28,000 staff in Australia and another 4,000 globally, and the company noted that thousands of its staff already use AI in their daily work. The BBC has contacted the Australian Services Union for comment.
The BBC noted that Hudson also stated this is hard news for some and I’m sorry for the uncertainty it brings
in her communication with workers.
Accenture Agreement Modernises Airline IT Systems
Qantas signed a multi-year agreement with professional services firm Accenture to modernise its back-end systems, processes, and data. Most of the outsourced work will shift to Accenture teams in India, alongside some roles retained in Australia.
On its new multi-year deal with Accenture, Hudson said it was about modernising the airline’s IT systems to become more efficient.
The deal with Accenture means the company will redesign and simplify parts of how corporate functions work and reduce duplication so staff can spend more time on work that creates value for customers and the business. The company added that in time, the work that Accenture takes over will be transformed further with automation and AI.
The scale and speed of change in technology and AI is something none of us has seen in our lifetime,
Hudson said, as cited by The Guardian. Standing still is not an option for us.
The airline currently spends more than AU$1bn (US$691m; £514m) a year on technology. Hudson explained that the carrier operates on more than 1,000 legacy applications built up over decades that were never designed to work together.
Qantas has struck a technology-outsourcing agreement with Accenture, removing about 850 jobs at the Australian airline and increasing its embrace of AI https://t.co/WSBIn2UjwJ
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,
Hudson stated, according to BigGo Finance.
Australian Services Union Questions Offshoring Commitments
The Australian Services Union questioned the announcement after receiving prior assurances from the airline. ASU assistant national secretary Scott Cowen addressed the restructuring following earlier discussions regarding Project iQ.
ASU Assistant National Secretary Scott Cowen said in August that Qantas had informed them there was no plan to offshore any Australian jobs, and demanded the airline stay true to those commitments. He warned that if the pledge turned out to be worthless, it wouldn’t just be a broken promise to the ASU.
Qantas has informed us that there is no plan to offshore any Australian jobs, and we demand the airline stay true to these commitments,
Cowen said, as documented by BigGo Finance.
He added that if the pledge fails, it won’t just be a broken promise to the ASU. It will be a deep breach of trust with the Australian public who have stuck by this airline through everything it has put them through.
The Qantas overhaul coincides with corporate downsizing in Australia, following restructuring moves flagged by Canva and National Australia Bank.
Related reading