Qantas to Cut 850 Jobs After Tech Deal With Accenture — Update

By Rhiannon Hoyle

Qantas Airways said it has signed a deal with Accenture on technology and artificial intelligence that will result in about 850 job cuts at Australia's largest airline.

The company said the partnership is aimed at modernizing its systems, processes and data, as the carrier steps up investment in technology and AI alongside the largest fleet renewal in its history.

Qantas didn't disclose the value of the multiyear agreement.

The layoffs represent about 3% of its Australian workforce.

The deal comes as the airline, like peers globally, battles to protect profits from rising fuel bills, fanned by hostilities in the Middle East. Qantas reported a 20% drop in annual net profit for the year through June.

"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," Chief Executive Vanessa Hudson said in a statement Tuesday. "Accenture has a global track record of doing this work for large organizations, including other airlines."

Accenture last month reported higher quarterly revenue and gave a strong outlook for the year ahead, citing demand from clients for large-scale reinvention, often driven by AI.

Qantas said that working with the professional-services firm will help it move faster and at greater scale than it could on its own.

"Like every airline, Qantas runs 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 company said in its statement.

Shares in Qantas were 4.4% higher by early afternoon in Sydney, giving the company a market value of more than US$10 billion.

Hours earlier, Boeing's commercial aircraft unit said it plans to reduce its own workforce by around 5%. It cited a revised business plan and efforts to stabilize the company's supply chain.

At Qantas, the layoffs are expected to take place over the coming years, with the first wave anticipated by mid-2027. Tasks that move to Accenture will be "delivered mostly by its teams in India and some in Australia, and in time be transformed further with automation and AI," the company said.

Qantas employs about 28,000 people in Australia. Hudson said the airline will aim to redeploy workers into other roles across the group where possible.

Write to Rhiannon Hoyle at rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 09, 2026 22:08 ET (03:08 GMT)