Coles planning to offshore hundreds of corporate jobs to India in major outsourcing move

Published: 00:27, 7 August 2026 | Updated: 00:33, 7 August 2026 Australian supermarket giant Coles is reportedly planning to offshore hundreds of jobs to India. Coles is outsourcing hundreds of corporate roles across its marketing, finance, human resources and technology divisions through an expanded partnership with Accenture, the Australian Financial Review reports. Under the deal, valued at hundreds of millions of dollars, local job losses could range from several hundred to more than 1,000, the outlet reported. Most of the affected jobs would be moved to India, while Accenture would take over the remaining roles in Australia. 'We are constantly exploring partnerships that help us unlock that capability at the scale and pace we need in an increasingly competitive environment, allowing us to … move faster, and deliver for our customers,' a Coles spokesperson said. Coles has about 5,000 corporate employees. The move comes just days after reports suggested Qantas was making a similar move. 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. Australian supermarket giant Coles is reportedly planning to offshore hundreds of jobs to India  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'.