Qantas to outsource 850 jobs to Accenture

The Qantas Group has signed a strategic partnership with Accenture to modernise its back-end systems, processes and data as it increases investment in technology and AI alongside the largest fleet renewal programme in its history.

The partnership will involve restructuring and simplifying some of the Group’s corporate functions, with certain services being transferred to Accenture. Most of these services will be handled by Accenture teams in India, while some will remain in Australia, with automation and AI expected to play a greater role over time.

Qantas said that approximately 850 roles across the Group are expected to be affected over the coming years. The airline will consult with affected employees and their unions before deciding individual outcomes. The first phase of changes is expected to be implemented by mid-2027.

The move comes as Qantas looks to adapt to rapid developments in technology and artificial intelligence (AI), which are changing business operations and customer expectations. The airline said its existing technology infrastructure includes more than 1,000 legacy applications that were developed over several decades and were not designed to work together. Qantas plans to modernise these systems and integrate their data to simplify operations, support innovation and expand its use of AI across the business.

The agreement builds on Qantas's ongoing technology investments, with the airline spending more than $1 billion annually in this area. Its initiatives include the new Product Innovation Centre in Adelaide, which is expected to expand to more than 400 positions. Thousands of Qantas employees are also already using AI tools in their daily work.

Accenture will bring its global expertise in technology and AI transformation to the multi-year agreement, supported by tens of thousands of data and AI specialists, university partnerships and access to its innovation teams in Silicon Valley. The collaboration is expected to help Qantas accelerate its modernisation efforts and implement changes on a larger scale.

As part of the agreement, Accenture will make an upfront investment to speed up the modernisation of Qantas's data platforms. The improvements are expected to benefit not only corporate functions but also customer experience and airline operations, while providing a stronger foundation for faster innovation using AI.

Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson said the agreement aims to make the airline more modern and competitive while positioning the business for future growth.

“The scale and speed of change in this space are unprecedented and unlike anything businesses have seen in generations. Leading organisations around the world are well progressed in using technology and AI to completely transform how they work, and standing still is not an option for us,” said Hudson. We need to reinvent the processes, platforms and data behind our business so we can innovate faster and deliver a better, more connected experience for our customers and our people. That means fundamentally redesigning how the work behind our airline gets done, so it is simpler, more connected and keeps getting better, with automation and AI built in from the start. Accenture has a global track record of doing this work for large organisations, including other airlines. It brings the capability and talent to design this hand-in-hand with us and the capacity to help us deliver it. We know this will be difficult news for some of our people and this decision is not a reflection of their contribution or commitment. We are focused on providing redeployment into other roles across the Group where possible, including new roles we’re creating in Australia, as well as on reskilling, retraining and ongoing support and care.”