Updated August 7, 2026 — 3:04pm,first published 11:43am
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Coles is planning to outsource hundreds of back-office jobs, with many moving to India, after extending a deal with consulting giant Accenture to cut costs in their headquarters.
The move follows reports that Qantas is contemplating a similar arrangement as major Australian companies try to manage a wave of AI-driven digital disruption.
The $32.4 billion supermarket giant confirmed several hundred local jobs would be made redundant to tap into “global skills and resources” to deliver “seamless, personalised, digital experiences” for its customers.
“Some work in our corporate workforce will move to Accenture overseas and in Australia,” a Coles spokesperson said. “The partnership will also help reduce costs in order to continue delivering value for our customers at the checkout.”
The outsourcing arrangement was first reported by The Australian Financial Review. Accenture declined to comment.
Coles employs about 115,000 people and said store staff will not be affected by the move.
“We recognise the impact this has on individuals and our wider team, and these decisions are never made lightly,” a Coles spokesperson said.
“We will redeploy as many affected team members as possible, including reskilling opportunities and pathways into other roles across Coles. ”
Woolworths, Dan Murphy’s and BWS operator Endeavour Group, and Telstra are among other Australian corporate giants moving white-collar roles across technology, finance, human resources and customer service to Asia, particularly India, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
Earlier this week, Endeavour revealed it had spent $58 million on setting up a “centralised business services function” that includes “outsourcing of back-office functions”, restructuring costs, and advisory and consulting fees.
In February, Telstra chief executive Vicki Brady, told staff in an email that up to 650 jobs could be lost. The telecommunications giant has already slashed over 2300 roles from its workforce across the 2025 calendar year.
Most of the big four banks – Commonwealth Bank, NAB, and ANZ – have expanded their offshore workforce to more than 7000 across Asia. Westpac uses third-party outsourcing partners instead of employing directly.
Officeworks, operated by $103 billion conglomerate Wesfarmers, has moved hundreds of office support and customer service roles to India and the Philippines. Kmart and Target, also operated by Wesfarmers, hires 500 workers in Bengaluru, India.