Qantas is preparing to cut 850 local jobs and outsource work offshore under an AI-driven overhaul, marking a growing wave of disruption to the Australian workforce.
The changes represent the third major corporate layoff plan announced in Australia in three weeks, after restructuring moves flagged by the design company Canva and National Australia Bank .
Qantas said on Tuesday it had signed a multi-year agreement with the professional services firm Accenture to “modernise its back-end systems, processes and data, as it steps up investment in technology and AI”.
Some of the services will be transferred to Accenture’s large India-based team.
The Qantas chief executive, Vanessa Hudson, said the airline would consult with affected staff and unions before final decisions were made, with the first changes to take effect by midway through next year.
“The scale and speed of change in this space is unprecedented and unlike anything businesses have seen in generations,” Hudson said.
“We know this will be difficult news for some of our people and this decision is not a reflection of their contribution or commitment.”
The initial cuts will target finance, procurement, human resources and marketing staff. Qantas has about 32,000 employees, according to its most recent annual report.
The changes have drawn a strong response from unions that have previously battled Qantas over controversial outsourcing decisions .
The Australian Services Union said Qantas needed to explain itself after earlier promising it had no plans to move any jobs offshore.
“AI is having a huge impact on workers across the country, but the cost of technology change should not be borne by the workers who have kept the airline running for years,” assistant national secretary Scott Cowen said.
“Sending more jobs overseas is not in the spirit of Australia.”
The restructuring comes at a difficult time for Australian workers, with living costs surging and the unemployment rate reaching its highest level in nearly five years .
A subdued economy, made worse by elevated oil prices stemming from the Iran conflict, is also prompting companies to cut costs.
Across just three companies – NAB with 2,500 roles, Canva with 1,200, and now Qantas with 850 – about 4,550 corporate jobs have been targeted for cuts, relocations or restructuring in the past month.
While Qantas has been grappling with rising jet fuel prices, the costs have been partially offset by ticket sales to new customers who switched to the airline after cancelling flights at those with Middle East stopovers.
Qantas said in a market update late last week that while customer demand was proving resilient, it would continue to adjust fares and capacity in response to fuel costs.
