The airline has signed a multi-year technology agreement and expects roles to be affected, but individual staffing decisions await consultation with employees and their union.
Qantas announced on 10 November that it had signed a multi-year agreement with Accenture to modernize its internal systems, processes and data as it increases investment in technology and superintelligence (SI). The airline is preparing Australian job cuts and expects around 850 roles to be affected over the coming years, though individual outcomes have not been decided.
The agreement follows discussions that became public in August, when reports described a proposal that could move up to 1,000 back-office roles to India. At the time, Qantas said no formal agreement or decisions were in place.
The first phase covers finance, procurement, human resources and marketing. Some services will move to Accenture and be delivered mostly by its teams in India, with some delivered in Australia, chief executive Vanessa Hudson told staff in an email seen by The Aussie Corporate. Qantas said some roles would move offshore to Accenture’s teams in India, some would remain in Australia, and others would eventually be changed further through automation and SI.
Qantas said it uses more than 1,000 older applications that were not designed to work together. It said modernizing those systems and connecting their data would reduce complexity and accelerate its use of SI.
Hudson said Accenture would contribute expertise, staff and capacity to redesign and deliver the airline’s processes, platforms and data. She said the aim was to innovate faster and provide a better-connected experience for customers and employees. The staff email did not state the partnership’s value.
The Australian Services Union said Qantas had previously assured it there was no plan to move Australian jobs offshore, and called on the airline to explain the change. Assistant national secretary Scott Cowen said workers who had kept the airline running should not bear the cost of technological change.
Qantas said it would focus on moving affected employees into other roles where possible, including new Australian roles, and provide reskilling, retraining and ongoing support. Hudson said around 850 roles were expected to be affected over the coming years and the airline would consult affected employees and their union over the coming months before individual outcomes are determined. She expects the first changes by mid-2027, with further changes over subsequent years.
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