Australia's largest airline, Qantas, will lay off approximately 850 people

According to The Australian newspaper, Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson stated in the email she sent to employees today that some jobs in the company will be transferred step by step to India-based Accenture in the coming years, and the first changes are expected to be made in the middle of 2027.

Emphasizing that 850 people will be gradually affected by the agreement in question, Hudson acknowledged that the decision was "difficult news" for some employees and apologized to those who experienced uncertainty.

Arguing that Accenture has done similar work for large organizations, including other airlines, and that the decision has nothing to do with the effort and commitment of employees, Hudson said, "The speed and scale of change in technology and artificial intelligence is something we have not seen in our lifetime. This change also changes our customers' expectations from us and your expectations from the vehicles you use every day. Leading companies in aviation and other fields are advancing rapidly. Standing still is not an option for us." he said.

Some of Qantas' corporate services will be transferred to Accenture

In the statement made by the company on the subject, it was stated that the partnership with Accenture aims to renew computer systems, business processes and data, and that this step was taken to keep up with the rapid change in technology and artificial intelligence.

In the statement, it was stated that some of the company's corporate services such as finance, administrative affairs and technology will be transferred to Accenture, and these services will be mostly carried out by Accenture's teams in India and some of them will be carried out by its teams in Australia. It was emphasized that services will be further changed over time by automation and artificial intelligence.

It was stated in the statement that Qantas invests more than 1 billion dollars in technology every year, and that it is planned to increase the number of employees at the Product Innovation Center established in Adelaide to over 400 and that thousands of employees are already using artificial intelligence tools.

Reaction from Sendular

Transport Workers Union (TWU) National Secretary Michael Kaine argued that the decision had "pushed Qantas to the bottom".

Kaine alleged that the company had previously illegally outsourced the jobs of thousands of employees and sold tickets for canceled flights.

Stating that Qantas employees quit their jobs against practices dating back to the era of former CEO Alan Joyce, Kaine claimed that the company gave up its experienced employees for profit.

Australian Services Union (ASU) Secretary Angus McFarland criticized that Qantas constantly talks about artificial intelligence, but the company's first step is to send jobs in Australia to India.

McFarland said employees deserved investment in their skills and future, rather than a pre-Christmas email that left them wondering "will I have a job?"

Qantas workers went on strike last month

Qantas employees walked off the job at major airports in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth last month.

Workers had argued that their jobs had been turned into "remnants of low-paid and unsafe jobs".

The strike was not attended by pilots and cabin crew, but by ground handling staff who maintain the planes and deal with passengers on the ground.