Qantas says it is already investing over $1 billion in technology every year as it looks to modernise more than 1,000 legacy applications that were not intended to work together.
Some of the airline’s corporate functions will move to Accenture, with these services to be primarily delivered by teams based in India, with automation and artificial intelligence to play a larger role in these functions in future.
“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 Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson.
“The scale and speed of change in this space is unprecedented and unlike anything businesses have seen in generations.
“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,” said Hudson.
“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.”
The first job losses are expected by the middle of next year.
Employing 28,000 people, Qantas says it is has grown its workforce by over 4,400 since 2023 and intends to increase its employee base by thousands more in the coming years.
