‘We are growing’: Qantas boss Vanessa Hudson talks up staff numbers but signals AI shakeup
Australia’s flagship carrier is pushing ahead with ambitious plans to grow its workforce. But its corporate teams may be exposed to its CEO’s hunt for efficiencies.
Flying in the face of this week’s theme of mass AI-induced layoffs — with first CBA, then WiseTech, revealing plans for thousands of job cuts due to new-found tech efficiencies — Qantas has doubled down on its pledge for an 8,500-strong workforce expansion by 2030.
But beneath the gleam of a polished media event at the company’s Sydney offices, where hundreds of staff members packed the first-floor auditorium and crowded upper-floor balconies to catch a glance of their popular leader, chief executive Vanessa Hudson was cautious not to over-promise.
“We are going to be a net employer of Australians over the next five years to 2030 with the investments we are making,” she said in response to questions from media at the event.
“The mix of those employees might change as technology rolls out, but we are growing and that is because of the investments we are making... We will always support our people to re-skill as well, where we can.”
