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Telstra to Cut 209 Jobs from AI Joint Venture, Offshoring Work to India

The Age

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The telco giant has proposed to slash hundreds of jobs from its joint venture with consulting firm Accenture after cutting thousands of roles in the past two years and bolstering its AI capabilities.

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Telstra plans to eliminate 209 positions in its AI joint venture with Accenture, shifting some roles to India in an effort to reduce costs. Despite significant investments in AI meant to enhance business efficiency, the cuts underline ongoing trends in Australian corporations outsourcing jobs to regions with cheaper labor. Although the job reductions are significant, they do not necessarily indicate advancements in AI capabilities nor do they directly address catastrophic AI risks or substantial changes in safety policy. This development does not engage deeply with global AI governance or existential risk mitigation.

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AdvertisementTelecommunications giant Telstra is proposing to slash hundreds of roles from its AI joint venture with consulting firm Accenture with some work to be offshored to India.On Tuesday, the firm proposed to cut 209 jobs from the $700 million joint venture, one of the biggest AI investments by an Australian company to date.Telstra has been focused on rolling out AI capabilities over the past two years.Renee NowytargerThe venture, announced in January last year, is aimed at rolling out AI capabilities across Telstra to improve its business processes, with chief executive Vicki Brady saying at the time it would build specialised AI tools for its teams to “work smarter and faster”.The latest job cuts come after the company announced plans in 2024 to trim back up to 2800 workers, or about 10 per cent of its workforce.AdvertisementSome redeployment opportunities, including roles requiring AI and data skill-sets, will be offered by Accenture, and affected roles would not be replaced by AI.In its full-year results last year, the telco giant posted bumper profits after cutting operating expenses by 6 per cent. Telstra will report its half-yearly results on Thursday, February 19.A raft of Australian companies have been culling roles and offshoring work to countries with cheaper labour as they look to trim costs.Big four consulting firm KPMG last week announced its proposal to slash 200 executive assistant roles and offshore work to the Philippines, while banking giants NAB and CBA have also come under fire for proposals to cut hundreds of jobs and shift them to India.AdvertisementTelstra has been contacted for comment.The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning.SaveYou have reached your maximum number of saved items.Remove items from your saved list to add more.ShareLicense this articleMore:WorkplaceTelstra CorporationAccentureJobsMillie Muroi is the economics writer at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. She was formerly an economics correspondent based in Canberra’s Press Gallery and the banking writer based in Sydney.Connect via X or email.AdvertisementAdvertisement