Qantas Airways To Cut 850 Jobs In Australia, Outsource Some Roles To India

The move is part of a multi-year agreement aimed at modernising the airline's internal systems, improving operational efficiency and expanding its use of artificial intelligence (AI).

10 Nov 2026, 06:25 · NDTV

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Qantas plans to cut around 850 jobs, outsourcing some functions to Accenture
Job cuts will affect about 3% of Qantas’ Australian workforce in key departments
Most outsourced work will be handled by Accenture teams in India and some in Australia

Will these operational cost savings lead to cheaper airfares?

Australian airline Qantas plans to cut around 850 jobs and outsource some of its corporate functions to consulting firm Accenture, with most of the affected work expected to be handled by teams in India, BBC reported. The move is part of a multi-year agreement aimed at modernising the airline's internal systems, improving operational efficiency and expanding its use of artificial intelligence (AI). According to a report by 9News Australia, the proposed job cuts will affect around 3% of Qantas' Australian workforce.

The initial phase of the restructuring will cover employees in finance, procurement, human resources and marketing. Some services in these departments will be transferred to Accenture, with most of the work carried out by its teams in India and some in Australia.

In an email to employees, Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson said the changes would be implemented over several years, with the first phase expected to begin by mid-2027. She added that the airline would consult affected employees and unions before final decisions were made.

"The scale and speed of change in this space is unprecedented and unlike anything businesses have seen in generations. We know this will be difficult news for some of our people, and this decision is not a reflection of their contribution or commitment," Hudson said.

Hudson acknowledged the uncertainty the announcement could create for employees and said Qantas would look at opportunities to retain as many workers as possible through retraining, reskilling and redeployment to other roles within the company.

The airline's decision comes as it looks to simplify its technology infrastructure. Qantas currently operates more than 1,000 legacy applications that were not designed to work together, making it difficult to integrate systems and data.

The partnership with Accenture is expected to address these challenges and help the airline accelerate innovation and adopt AI-driven technologies.

However, the outsourcing plan has drawn criticism from the Australian Services Union (ASU), which has raised concerns about jobs and skills being shifted overseas.

The announcement also comes amid a series of workforce restructuring plans across Australia's corporate sector. It follows similar moves by design platform Canva and National Australia Bank (NAB), making Qantas the third major company in the country to announce significant job cuts in three weeks.

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