Qantas Airways
ASX:QANAustralia's largest airline. International and domestic flights.
Reported Offshore Headcount
400+
reported 27 Feb 2026, Qantas opening Singapore cabin crew base — unions accuse airline of of...
Estimated % of Workforce
~1.3%
illustrative, not directly reported by the company
Destination Countries
Modern slavery statement confirms: majority of contact centres are in the Philippines (Manila), with small onshore call centre in Gosford NSW. Offshore cabin crew bases in Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia.
Financial Context
Market Cap
$12.5B
Revenue
$20.8B
Net Profit
$2.1B
Estimated Wage Differential
~$34M/yr
CEO: Vanessa Hudson
$4,400,000
56x avg Australian worker
Illustrative wage differential: if the 400+ reported offshore roles were instead employed in Australia at average local rates, the additional cost could be in the order of ~$34M/yr (~1.6% of reported net profit). This is an estimate based on industry averages, not company-specific data.
Would this company be profitable without offshoring?
Every dollar paid offshore leaves the Australian economy, reducing local wages, tax receipts, and economic circulation. Why it matters
Financial data: FY2024. Estimate uses avg AU employment cost of $110,000+/yr (incl. super and on-costs) vs offshore $25,000/yr (salary + on-costs). Actual figures vary by role, seniority, and location.
In Plain English
- In 2026, Qantas Airways was reported to have 400+ offshore contractors and staff.
- This represents ~1.3% when compared to its current workforce of 30,000 (illustrative comparison only, not directly reported by the company).
- 🇸🇬 400+ staff reported in Singapore in Other.
- Known outsourcing partners include Accenture, Deloitte.
- 5,000 Australian jobs have been cut.
Based on data from public sources at the dates reported. Figures may not reflect current headcount. See sources below for full attribution.
The Story
- August 2026The Australian Financial Review reported that Qantas was exploring outsourcing up to 1,000 roles to India under an internal programme called "Project iQ", covering marketing, finance, HR and other back-office functions, with Accenture as the prospective partner. Frontline operational roles (pilots, cabin crew and engineers) were not reported to be in scope. Qantas denied a deal had been struck: "We have been exploring partnerships that have the capability to support us and are in early discussions with Accenture, but no formal agreement is in place and no decisions have been made." The airline framed the work as modernisation: "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." ASU National Secretary Scott Cowen: "If that commitment from Qantas turns out to be worthless, it won't just be a broken promise to the ASU. It will be a deep breach of trust with the Australian public who have stuck by this airline through everything it has put them through." Because no decision has been made and no headcount confirmed, this is recorded as a reported proposal only: no job losses are counted against Qantas here, and no Accenture engagement is recorded. [Information Age (ACS)]
- 2025Calls to Qantas and Qantas Frequent Flyer are answered in Australia or New Zealand. Emails and some back-office functions remain performed offshore through outsourcing partners. [Matchboard]
- 2023A data breach at Qantas was linked to a Manila-based call centre operation. [Unfair Dismissals Australia]
- 2023New CEO Vanessa Hudson said Qantas was reviewing its contact centres and "considering whether to bring more of this important task back onshore." [Australian Frequent Flyer]
- 2021Qantas was ordered by the Federal Court to compensate 1,700 workers who were sacked and replaced with outsourced labour. The High Court later upheld the ruling. [Outsource Accelerator]
- 2020Qantas cut 8,500 jobs across the airline during the COVID-19 pandemic. [ASU]
- 2015Qantas closed its Melbourne call centre, followed by its Brisbane call centre the following year. Around 450 full-time Australian jobs were lost. [CX Central]
All facts sourced from public reporting. No editorial commentary. Click source links to verify.
Department Breakdown
| Department | Country | Headcount | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other | 🇸🇬 Singapore | 400 | Confirmed |
Offshoring Timeline
| Date | Department | Country | Headcount | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Jun 2023 | Call Centre | 🇵🇭 Philippines | — | Confirmed |
| 30 Jun 2025 | Customer Support | 🇵🇭 Philippines | — | Estimated |
| 27 Feb 2026 | Other | 🇸🇬 Singapore | 400 | Confirmed |
Layoff Events
| Date | Headcount | Location | Department | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 Feb 2014 | 5,000 | Australia | technology | Qantas announced 5,000 job cuts after $235M net loss. Outsources up to 80% of its IT operations. Part of $2B savings over 3 years. |
Consultancy Engagements
Other Transport Companies That Offshore
Other companies in transport with reported offshore operations.
| Company | ASX | Reported Offshore | Offshore Destinations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transurban Group | TCL | 100+ | 🇵🇭 Philippines |
What Public Sources Say
All information below is sourced from publicly available documents and reporting. Excerpts are direct quotes. Click source links to verify.
“Qantas plans first crew base in Singapore. 120 flight attendants initially, up to 650 within 5 years. FAAA: "offshoring these roles cannot credibly be framed as a labour shortage response." Qantas claims 8,500 AU jobs by 2030.”
“IAG (8.5 million customers) outsources at least part of their contact centre in 2025.”
“Data breach was said to be due to the offshoring of a Manila-based call center.”
“Some tasks including emails and some back-office functions are performed offshore through their outsourcing partners.”
“Qantas announced 5,000 job cuts after $235M net loss. Outsources up to 80% of its IT operations. Part of $2B savings over 3 years.”
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This list is not complete, and never will be
If a company isn't listed here, that doesn't mean it doesn't offshore. And every number is the lowest we can prove, so the real figures can often be higher.
Read whyShow less
This list is not complete, and never will be
If a company isn't listed here, that doesn't mean it doesn't offshore. And every number is the lowest we can prove, so the real figures can often be higher.
This started as an ASX 200 project and mostly still is. It has widened as stories landed from outside that list, so it now also covers employers that aren't ASX-listed, like Canva, Allianz Australia, SS&C and Crown Resorts, along with government departments and agencies. Companies get added when something surfaces about them, not by working through a list in order.
Australian companies are under no obligation to disclose where their work is done, and there is no register of offshored jobs. Everything here comes from something that surfaced publicly: an annual report, a modern slavery statement, a news article, a union statement, a government contract, or a tip from someone who was there.
So an absence usually means nobody has reported on that company and we haven't got to it yet, not that it keeps its work onshore. Some of the biggest offshorers say nothing at all. And because each figure counts only what a source actually stated, the real numbers can often run higher, sometimes much higher.
Every figure links to the source it came from, so you can judge it yourself rather than take our word for it. If you know something that is missing or wrong, tell us. Corrections are published, not quietly buried.
This profile reflects public information at the time of publication and may not match current operations. Is something wrong or missing about Qantas Airways? Submit a correction. We welcome input from companies, employees, and researchers.