Qantas in talks with Accenture as reports flag 1,000 offshore back office roles

Qantas is assessing a potential partnership with Accenture to accelerate the use of artificial intelligence and modernise its corporate operations. 

Following media reports, the airline could offshore up to 1,000 back office roles, including positions in human resources, finance and marketing.

According to the Australian Financial Review and NineNews, the proposed initiative, internally dubbed Project iQ, would see Accenture support the airline's technology transformation while taking on several head office functions. 

The reports claim the plan could involve shifting a significant number of support roles to India, although Qantas has emphasised that discussions remain at an early stage and no formal agreement has been reached.

Modernising operations

Confirming the discussions, Qantas said it is exploring external partnerships to help accelerate technology and AI adoption across the business, but stressed that no decisions have been made regarding the reported outsourcing programme.

"We have been exploring partnerships that have the capability to support us and are in early stage discussions with Accenture, but no formal agreement is in place and no decisions have been made," a Qantas spokesperson told the Australian Financial Review.

The airline also reiterated its commitment to expanding frontline operations in Australia.

"We have added thousands of operational roles in Australia in the past few years, including pilots ... and engineers, and will hire thousands more over the coming years."

In a separate statement to 9News, the airline said the discussions form part of its broader strategy to modernise how it operates through technology and AI.

"Like all organisations, Qantas has been looking at ways to accelerate the use of technology and AI to help us modernise the way we work and deliver better outcomes for our customers and our people," a Qantas spokesperson told 9News.

"We have been exploring partnerships that have the capability to support us… but no formal agreement is in place and no decisions have been made."

AI strategy evolves

The reported partnership follows a similar arrangement between Accenture and Telstra, where the consultancy supported the telecommunications company's AI transformation through investments in technology, industry solutions, talent and ecosystem partnerships. The venture also led to the outsourcing of some roles and more than 200 reported job losses.

Earlier this year, Qantas Chief Executive Vanessa Hudson said the airline sees AI as an opportunity to improve efficiency across the business, while rejecting the idea that the technology should be viewed solely as a cost-cutting tool.

"I don't put limits in terms of the way we're thinking about AI and I don't think it's the right thing to only think about the value that AI can give is through headcount reduction," Hudson said.

Union voices concern

The reports have drawn criticism from the Australian Services Union (ASU), which warned that any decision to offshore Australian jobs would contradict previous commitments made by the airline and risk weakening customer service.

ASU Assistant National Secretary Scott Cowen said the union expects Qantas to honour its assurances.

"Qantas has informed that there is no plan to offshore any Australian jobs, and we demand the airline stay true to these commitments," he said.

"The premium service Qantas passengers expect is built on the expertise of our members, not the efficiency of an algorithm."

The reported restructuring has also revived debate around Qantas' outsourcing strategy. In 2024, the airline agreed to pay A$210 million in compensation to former ground handling employees after Australia's High Court found their 2020 outsourcing had been unlawful.