Australian airline Qantas to cut 850 jobs and shift work to Accenture due to AI shift

Australian flag carrier Qantas has announced it will cut 850 jobs over the coming years and outsource corporate functions to consulting firm Accenture. The airline stated the move is a direct response to rapid industry changes driven by artificial intelligence. ## What Happened In an email to staff, Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson said the job cuts represent about 3% of the airline's total Australian workforce of 28,000. The first round of cuts is scheduled to take place by mid-2027 and will affect finance, procurement, human resources and marketing staff. Some roles will be shifted to Accenture and performed by teams mostly based in India. Qantas explained that partnering with Accenture allows the company to access difficult-to-find data and AI skills because it cannot hire at the pace required. The airline also noted it currently runs on more than 1,000 legacy applications built over decades that were never designed to work together. ## Reaction The Australian Services Union criticized the decision, stating that Qantas had previously assured staff there were no plans to offshore jobs under the Accenture deal. ASU Assistant National Secretary Scott Cowen said workers who kept the airline running should not bear the cost of technology changes. A Qantas spokesperson denied giving such assurances, stating the company met with the union multiple times to discuss the potential for roles to move to Accenture. Meanwhile, Transport Workers' Union national secretary Michael Kaine also condemned the move, pointing to past controversies including a $A100 million fine for misleading customers on flight bookings. ## Context Major corporations worldwide increasingly adopt artificial intelligence and cloud-based systems to replace older technology platforms and lower operational costs. Outsourcing corporate and back-office functions to specialized global firms with large technical workforces in countries like India has become a common strategy across various industries.