Qantas, Australia’s biggest airline, said it would cut 850 jobs in the country as part of a major business restructuring programme that includes AI (artificial intelligence), automation and outsourcing corporate operations to India. Employees and unions have expressed concern about several existing roles being impacted by the airline’s new multi-year partnership with global consulting and technology services company Accenture.
Some corporate functions currently done by Australian employees will go to Accenture teams, while most of the work outsourced is expected to be done from India, Qantas said. “We are modernising our technology infrastructure, simplifying our business operations and adapting to a rapidly changing aviation industry,” the airline said.
The job cuts will be made over the next few years, not in one mass layoff announced on 10 November 2026, although the first stage of changes is expected to start by the middle of 2027. The 850 positions being cut represent three per cent of Qantas’ Australian workforce (about 28,000).
Corporate departments will be affected initially: finance, procurement, human resources and marketing. Some work currently done by those teams will move to Accenture, whose employees will perform these services from India, but some work will still be done in Australia.
Qantas Group chief executive Vanessa Hudson told employees about the decision in an internal memo. “We know that uncertainty will be hard for people when they hear this,” she said. “We also know it’s going to be hard news for some,” Hudson said the partnership was part of a wider program to modernise technology underpinning the airline’s operations and make them more efficient. The collaboration will give it access to specialised data and AI expertise which would be difficult to recruit at speed to transform its business.
Why Is Qantas Restructuring Its Workforce?
One of the main reasons for restructuring is Qantas’ existing technology infrastructure. The airline operates more than 1,000 legacy applications (some dating back several decades) that were never designed to work together. Managing those systems has made operations complex, so Qantas needs to find ways to simplify processes and introduce new technology. With Accenture, it plans to redesign some corporate functions, reduce duplication of work and accelerate AI/automation adoption.
Accenture’s technology specialists and global delivery network will enable Qantas to better respond to changes in customer expectations and industry requirements. AI is being used across the aviation sector for data analysis, customer services, business processes and operational planning. Qantas wants to prepare itself for this transition by combining its existing operations with external technology expertise, but it has also raised questions about whether automation and overseas outsourcing will reduce employment opportunities for workers in Australia.
Unions Criticise the Decision to Move Jobs Overseas
The announcement has been criticised by the Australian Services Union (ASU), which represents workers affected by the restructuring. The union questioned why the airline wanted to move work overseas and said that employees deserved a clear explanation of what was happening. ASU Assistant National Secretary Scott Cowen said Qantas had previously said there were no offshore jobs planned under Accenture but “the latest announcement has created concerns among workers who thought their positions would remain in Australia”.
The union also said employees who have contributed to the airline’s operations shouldn’t be asked to pay for the transformation. It has called for meaningful consultation and efforts to keep as many jobs in the country as possible. Qantas denied giving the union any assurance that jobs would not be moved overseas. The airline said it had held discussions with union representatives in recent months about whether some responsibilities could be transferred to Accenture teams in India and Australia.
Qantas Promises Redeployment and Retraining Opportunities
Qantas said individual employment outcomes were not finalised yet and it would consult with affected employees and their union over the next few months. It also said it would try to redeploy as many workers as possible into other positions across the group. Training, reskilling and new roles in Australia are options being considered for employees affected by restructuring.
The company has also said that its broader operations are growing, with more than 4,400 operational jobs added since 2023. Qantas will recruit additional staff in the coming years as it expands and renews its fleet of aircraft, but the 850 corporate job cuts planned remain a major development for Australia’s aviation workforce.
The Qantas announcement is part of a wider trend among major Australian companies to look overseas for outsourcing and AI-driven business transformation. Several large organisations have also announced restructuring measures involving technology and offshore service delivery.
For employees, it shows how AI, automation and global outsourcing are having an increasing impact on traditional corporate jobs. Qantas says the partnership with Accenture will increase efficiency and modernise its operations, but in the coming months it will be about how many employees can be redeployed and how the proposed job cuts will affect Australia’s workforce.
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