Qantas once again lacks the "Spirit of Australia"

Qantas is set to outsource about 850 head office jobs after the company signed a multi-year deal with technology company Accenture. Chief executive Vanessa Hudson told staff the first changes were expected to be in place by mid-2027 as a part of a plan to overhaul the company’s legacy IT systems.

In an internal note to staff, Hudson said the changes would help the company prepare for the increasing role of artificial intelligence in the travel industry.

“I know this is hard news for some, and I’m sorry for the uncertainty it brings,” Hudson said.
“I wanted to explain why we are making these changes and what they mean for our people.
“They are about modernising the technology behind our business and becoming more efficient, so we can keep investing in our customers, our people and our future.”

Hudson said individual outcomes had not been determined, and the company would work through consultation with affected employees and their union over the next few months.

“Together we will redesign and simplify parts of how our corporate functions work and reduce duplication, so teams across the group can spend more time on work that creates value for our customers and the business,” Hudson said.

The first phase will start with finance, procurement, people and marketing, with some of the services in these areas moving to Accenture, delivered mostly by its teams in India and some in Australia. These changes are not a reflection of the contribution, commitment or performance of the teams involved.

ASU Assistant National Secretary Scott Cowen said the union had been working with Qantas for months after first hearing about the proposed deal.

“We were told at the time that there was no plan at all for 1,000 jobs to be offshored and yet today staff have been told by Vanessa Hudson that up to 850 jobs would be sent offshore,” he said. “So, this is really shocking news for our members.”

He said the union would be working closely with members to fight for every job, with most of the cuts affecting jobs based in Sydney. “We’ve seen time and time again through corporate Australia deals with global tech giants like Accenture suddenly there seems to be a mass need to be sending jobs offshore,” he said.

He said big corporate entities like Qantas that had received many taxpayer-funded subsidies over the years had a social obligation to look after their workforce.

“Ultimately with less people in employment locally, that’s going to have ramifications right across every community in Australia for every job that is lost,” he said. “And once a job is lost and sent offshore, it’s going to be very hard to get back.”