Qantas-Accenture agreement still at 'early stage discussions,' spokesperson says
Australian flag carrier Qantas is reportedly moving to outsource up to 1,000 back-office positions, including human resources roles, under a new plan with Accenture.
The plan, known as Project iQ, will see Qantas tap on Accenture's expertise to improve several head office functions and allow the airline to hire customer-facing staff, the Australian Financial Review reported, citing anonymous sources.
The plan will involve the offshoring of up to 1,000 back-office positions, including HR, marketing, and finance roles, to India, according to the report.
Qantas has confirmed that it is in talks with Accenture on a new deal, but stressed that no formal agreement is in place.
"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 spokesperson told the AFR.
"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."
The Accenture deal is reportedly similar to the agreement that the consultancy firm had with telecommunications firm Telstra in February.
Under the deal, Telstra benefits from Accenture's $3 billion AI investment in assets, industry solutions, ventures, acquisitions, as well as talent and ecosystem partnerships.
But the joint venture also included outsourcing some roles, with more than 200 jobs reportedly cut at Telstra.
Using AI to modernise Qantas
Qantas' spokesperson said the airline is looking at ways to "accelerate the use of technology and AI" to modernise its way of working and deliver better outcomes for customers and employees.
The statement follows CEO Vanessa Hudson's remarks earlier this year, where she pointed out that AI can help the airline "do things a lot more efficiently."
"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 previously said.
The reported outsourcing move at Qantas comes after a controversial offshoring case where it agreed in 2024 to pay $210 million in compensation to former ground handlers who were found to have been illegally sacked by the airline when it decided to outsource staff in 2020.
