Qantas to cut 850 jobs from mid-2027 as Accenture deal shifts work to India

The announcement

Qantas said on Tuesday, 10 November 2026, that it will cut 850 jobs, with most of the affected corporate roles moving to teams in India and some staying in Australia. In an internal email to staff, chief executive Vanessa Hudson said the job cuts will begin in mid-2027 and start with finance, procurement, people and marketing roles. The airline said it is still in talks with unions and staff about the plans, and the final fate of affected workers has not been set. Consultations will come first, and the company will examine whether affected staff can move into other roles in the group.

“this is hard news for some and I'm sorry for the uncertainty it brings”

The Accenture deal

Qantas signed a multi-year agreement with the consultancy Accenture to modernise its IT systems and reorganise some corporate functions. The first phase covers finance, procurement, people management and marketing. Accenture teams, based mainly in India and to a lesser extent in Australia, will take over part of that work. The airline says it spends more than AU$1bn (US$691m; £514m) a year on technology, and Hudson said its back-end systems need upgrading. Hudson explained the reasoning in her own words:

“Like every airline, we run on technology built up over decades for a different era, including more than 1,000 legacy applications that were never designed to work together.”

The agreement is meant to reshape and streamline parts of the corporate functions and cut duplicated work, freeing staff for tasks that the airline says create more value.

Fleet renewal and AI push

The job cuts come as Qantas expands its fleet. According to results published earlier this year, the airline added 17 new aircraft in the previous financial year and expects 31 more in the next one. In the days before the job announcement, Qantas issued a market update flagging fare increases and flight cuts amid higher fuel costs. The company also said thousands of employees already rely on AI in day-to-day tasks, and that over time the work Accenture takes over will be pushed further with automation and AI.

Previous financial year17

Next financial year (expected)31

Previous financial year

17 aircraft

Next financial year (expected)

31 aircraft

Data from the article text

Workforce and open questions

The airline's first changes are expected by mid-2027, and the reductions are described as a gradual process over the next few years. Qantas employs about 28,000 staff in Australia and another 4,000 globally, according to the BBC. Sources do not give a split between roles moving to India and those staying in Australia. The number of staff affected by the Accenture transfer had not been made clear, and the outcome for each affected worker will depend on consultations still to come.