SYDNEY, Nov. 10, 2026 — Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson told staff about a multi-year partnership with Accenture that will affect about 850 Australian corporate roles. Most of the work will move to Accenture teams in India, and some will stay with Accenture in Australia.
What’s changing
- Which jobs: head-office functions only. The first phase covers finance, procurement and marketing operations, and Information Age and Aviation A2Z also list people/HR. Flight and ground operations are not included.
- Scale: about 850 roles, or roughly 3% of Qantas’ approximately 28,000 Australian staff (Aviation A2Z’s figures).
- Why: Qantas cites more than 1,000 legacy applications that don’t work together, and a push to speed up its use of AI. The deal’s value and expected savings were not disclosed.
- When: the first changes come by mid-2027, and the rest are phased over several years. Timing for each department is TBA.
- Redundancies vs. transfers: how many roles will be cut and how many will move to Accenture is TBA. Qantas says it will consult staff and the union in the coming months and offer redeployment, reskilling and some new roles in Australia, including in operations.
Union reaction
The Australian Services Union met members on Nov. 10. Assistant national secretary Scott Cowen said Qantas had told the union earlier this year that there was no plan to offshore jobs. A Qantas spokesperson said the airline never guaranteed the roles would stay in Australia. Hudson’s message to staff called the news “hard news for some.”
The announcement follows Qantas’ Nov. 6 market update, which guided domestic capacity down 3% and international capacity up 2% for the first half of FY27.
What it means for non-revs
- Nothing changes for flights or seat supply. The jobs affected are corporate, not operational.
- For affected head-office staff, it has not been said how travel benefits will be handled for anyone who transfers to Accenture or takes redundancy (TBA). Ask about this during consultation.
- Qantas domestic capacity is down 3% for July–December 2026, so expect firmer domestic loads through the holidays.
Sources
- ABC News: Qantas to cut 850 corporate jobs as it moves roles overseas in Accenture deal
- Information Age (ACS): Qantas to axe 850 jobs in AI overhaul
- Aviation A2Z: Qantas to Cut 850 Jobs as Accenture Moves Ops to Most Populated Country in the World
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