Australian employers announce job cuts and offshore plans

Canva announced it would cut or relocate more than 1,200 jobs, representing 22 per cent of its workforce; the restructuring was described as its first in 13 years.[1] Woodside Energy announced plans to cut at least 500 jobs globally, and about 80 per cent of its workforce is based in Australia.[1] NAB said it planned to cut 2,500 jobs by the end of the financial year in October.[1] The job announcements were described as a relatively small piece of the picture.[1] Australia’s unemployment rate reached 4.7 per cent in September, its highest level since October 2021.[1]

Qantas said it would cut 850 positions under an outsourcing deal with Accenture, a new, multi-year partnership.[2] The company said changes would begin in its finance, procurement and marketing teams, with the first changes expected to be in place by mid-2027.[2] Qantas said outsourced services would be delivered mostly by Accenture teams in India, with some work in Australia.[2] It said the arrangement would unlock innovation faster and accelerate its use of AI, with lasting benefits.[2] Qantas also said it would seek to redeploy as many affected employees as possible.[2]

Hudson said Qantas’s technology included more than 1,000 legacy applications that were not designed to work together.[2] Qantas’s stated aim of accelerating AI use is part of its explanation for the changes; the evidence does not establish that AI itself will perform the work of the affected employees.[2] Qantas was accused of using AI as a justification for shifting Australian jobs offshore.[3] Scott Cowen said regulations might be needed to protect local jobs amid an AI revolution.[4] These statements make it important for workers and managers to distinguish the company’s stated rationale from concerns raised about the effect on local roles.[2][3][4]

Woolworths and Coles announced similar plans to offshore hundreds of corporate roles to India and other parts of Asia.[4] Canva had also revealed plans to build significant offshore teams, including in hubs such as the Philippines, alongside major onshore job cuts.[4] NAB and ANZ indicated plans to grow offshore workforces while removing domestic roles.[4] Unions in services, finance and trades have called for AI adoption to include consultation, training and worker protections.[4] For employers introducing AI or outsourcing, these demands point to workforce planning and consultation as issues to address alongside technology decisions.