Qantas Shares Rise as Airline Cuts 850 Jobs in Accenture Deal
Qantas said on November 10, 2026 it will cut 850 Australian jobs and shift some corporate work to Accenture, mostly in India. Chief executive Vanessa Hudson cited AI-driven change. The Australian Services Union demanded an explanation. Shares rose on the news.
Qantas, Australia's flag carrier, said on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, that it will cut 850 jobs in Australia and outsource some corporate functions to consulting firm Accenture. Markets reacted quickly, and Qantas shares rose after the announcement.
The airline said the move responds to the growing use of artificial intelligence in the industry.
The first phase will hit finance, procurement, human resources and marketing staff. Some roles will shift to Accenture teams that will be "mostly" based in India, Qantas said.
The cuts affect about 3% of Qantas' Australian workforce of 28,000. Qantas had about 32,000 employees in its most recent annual report.
Timeline and consultation
In an email to staff, chief executive Vanessa Hudson said the jobs would go "over the coming years". The first round is due by mid-2027.
Hudson said the airline would consult affected staff and unions before final decisions are made. She also apologized to those affected: "I know this is hard news for some, and I'm sorry for the uncertainty it brings."
She described the pace of technological change in blunt terms. "The scale and speed of change in technology and AI is something none of us has seen in our lifetime," Hudson said. "Standing still is not an option for us."
The multi-year Accenture partnership will help Qantas "redesign and simplify parts of how our corporate functions work and reduce duplication," she said.
Union anger and wider wave of cuts
The Australian Services Union said Qantas must explain itself, because the airline had earlier promised it had no plans to move jobs offshore. Assistant national secretary Scott Cowen said the cost of technology change should not fall on workers who kept the airline running.
Qantas joins a growing list of large Australian companies moving work offshore to cut costs. Woolworths, Officeworks, Telstra and National Australia Bank have announced similar moves this year.
Qantas is the third major corporate layoff plan in Australia in three weeks. NAB is targeting 2,500 roles and Canva 1,200, bringing the total across the three companies to about 4,550 corporate jobs.
The cuts come as living costs surge and unemployment sits at its highest in nearly five years. Qantas has also faced rising jet fuel prices, though it said late last week that customer demand was proving resilient.
"Sending more jobs overseas is not in the spirit of Australia," Cowen said.
