Qantas: 850 Roles Set to Go in Accenture Deal
Qantas plans to cut 850 positions as it shifts corporate work to a new arrangement with Accenture, with most services expected to be delivered in India. The airline cited back-office workflows and artificial intelligence, while union leaders called for stronger protections and support for affected workers.
Qantas plans to cut 850 positions through redundancies and a deal with Accenture, prompting worker fears as Qantas blames artificial intelligence and inefficient workflows for the changes. Most services under the arrangement will be delivered in India, while some roles will remain in Australia.
The airline told staff about the first phase in an email on Tuesday. It will affect roles in finance, procurement, human resources and marketing.
Back-office work moves to Accenture
Qantas Chief Executive Vanessa Hudson said the airline and Accenture would redesign and simplify its corporate functions. She cited cumbersome back-office processes and AI as reasons for the shift.
“This is hard news for some,” Hudson wrote to staff. She said the changes were intended to modernize the technology behind the business and improve efficiency.
Hudson also said technology and AI were changing how companies operate. “Standing still is not an option,” she wrote.
The first phase is expected to affect Qantas’s corporate teams, while the Sydney headquarters will bear the heaviest impact, according to Angus McFarland, secretary of the Australian Services Union in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.
Unions seek protections for workers
McFarland warned that moving skills offshore could affect workers beyond Qantas. “If they can get away with it, well, anyone can,” he said.
Scott Cowen, assistant national secretary of the Australian Services Union, said regulations may be needed to protect local jobs as companies adopt AI. Unions in services, finance and trades are seeking safeguards that include consultation, training and worker protections.
Cowen said workers should receive support during the transition, including retraining and alternative employment opportunities. He compared that support to measures for energy-sector workers as Australia moves toward renewable sources.
“We’re really concerned that this Qantas announcement today is just another example of Australia’s corporate greed and of putting profits first, then workers second,” Cowen said.
Qantas’s move comes as other large Australian companies have announced plans to shift corporate roles offshore. Woolworths and Coles have announced similar plans involving hundreds of roles in India and elsewhere in Asia, while Canva has said it would build offshore teams, including in the Philippines, as it cuts jobs onshore.
Some large banks, including NAB and ANZ, have also indicated plans to expand offshore workforces while removing domestic roles.
