Qantas to cut 850 Australian jobs and outsource work to India under AI-driven overhaul

Qantas will cut 850 local corporate jobs and outsource most of the roles to Accenture teams in India as part of an AI-driven overhaul, the airline announced.

Job cuts and outsourcing

The changes will affect finance, procurement, people and marketing roles, with most shifting to teams in India and some in Australia. Qantas said it had signed a multi-year agreement with Accenture to "modernise its back-end systems, processes and data, as it steps up investment in technology and AI".

Qantas chief executive Vanessa Hudson said the airline would consult with affected staff and unions before final decisions were made, with the first changes to take effect by midway through next year.

"The scale and speed of change in this space is unprecedented and unlike anything businesses have seen in generations," Hudson said.

"We know this will be difficult news for some of our people and this decision is not a reflection of their contribution or commitment."

Technology and costs

Qantas spends more than AU$1bn (US$691m; £514m) a year on technology, Hudson said, and the company's back-end systems needed to be upgraded. She said the airline runs on technology built up over decades for a different era, including more than 1,000 legacy applications that were never designed to work together.

The company said that "in time", the work that Accenture takes over will be "transformed further with automation and AI". Qantas said thousands of its staff already use AI in their daily work.

The restructuring comes as the airline faces higher fuel costs. Qantas said in a market update late last week that while customer demand was proving resilient, it would continue to adjust fares and capacity in response to fuel costs.

Why it matters

The Qantas cuts are the third major corporate layoff plan announced in Australia in three weeks, after restructuring moves flagged by Canva and National Australia Bank. Across the 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.

---

Sources

• theguardian.com: Qantas to cut 850 Australian jobs and outsource work to India under AI-driven overhaul | Qantas | The Guardian
• bbc.com: Qantas to outsource 850 local jobs with most shifting to India

This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.