Qantas’s bombshell plan to send 1,000 Australian jobs to India in major cost-cutting blitz
Qantas is reportedly in talks to outsource 1,000 jobs to India.
The move is part of a major plan to cut costs and overhaul operations using artificial intelligence.
The plan would involve outsourcing parts of the airline’s marketing, finance, human resources and other back-office functions under a project known as Project IQ, the Australian Financial Review reports.
Qantas admitted it was in ‘early stage discussions’ over the plan.
‘Like all organisations, Qantas has been looking at ways to accelerate the use of technology and AI to help us modernise the way we work and deliver better outcomes for our customers and our people,’ a Qantas spokesperson said.
‘We have been exploring partnerships that have the capability to support us… but no formal agreement is in place and no decisions have been made.’
Qantas said it remained committed to providing employment opportunities in Australia.
The airline claimed it had already added ‘thousands of operational roles’ domestically and would continue adding thousands more ‘in the coming years’.
Qantas is reportedly in talks to outsource 1,000 jobs to India (stock image)
Australian Services Union (ASU) Assistant National Secretary Scott Cowen slammed the potential decision to move jobs offshore.
‘Qantas has informed that there is no plan to offshore any Australian jobs, and we demand the airline stay true to these commitments,’ he said.
‘The premium service Qantas passengers expect is built on the expertise of our members, not the efficiency of an algorithm.’
The move comes after the airline was found to have illegally fired 1,820 ground workers in late 2020.
Qantas claimed the workers were legally sacked in favour of cheaper, outsourced labour, but the Federal Court disagreed.
The court ruled, years later, in favour of the Transport Workers’ Union and found the airline purposely fired the workers shortly before contract negotiations were set to begin in order to prevent industrial action.
Qantas was ordered to pay a $90million fine and $120million in compensation.
Then-CEO Alan Joyce said difficult decisions had to be made to ensure Qantas’ survival.
Then-CEO Alan Joyce said difficult decisions had to be made to ensure Qantas’ survival after the airline was found to have illegally sacked 1,820 ground workers during the Covid pandemic
‘I’m sitting here, not apologising for Qantas going bankrupt. It could have – 40 airlines worldwide did,’ he said.
When asked why he never made an appearance in court or garnered much of a mention in Qantas’ documents – and whether the board was trying to distance him from the case – Joyce said: ‘I take responsibility for every decision, as I’ve said, but we were in the middle of a crisis.
‘There wasn’t the opportunity for us to make documented decisions on everything and we don’t do that when you’re moving that fast.
‘We made mistakes, we made errors, but at the end of the day I think we made more right decisions than wrong decisions.
‘That’s why Qantas is still around.’
