Qantas considers IBM hand-off

Australia's largest airline, Qantas, today confirmed it was considering outsourcing delivery of IT projects to IBM as cost-cutting initiatives progress.

"Qantas IT has introduced a range of efficiency measures to respond to the challenges facing the Qantas Group, but the reality is that compared to 2008, our IT project pipeline and IT spend going forward will be significantly reduced," said the airline's executive manager of corporate services and technology David Hall in a statement.

"Given this reduced demand, we are reviewing our IT project delivery functions and considering a number of options, including alternative sourcing models. One of these is transitioning IT project delivery to a strategic partner. We are exploring this concept with IBM."

Hall said the discussions were "early stage" and the airline had begun briefing staff accordingly, but no decisions had been made. Qantas made Hall's predecessor, chief information officer Jamila Gordon, redundant in March, as part of an extensive restructure that has seen hundreds of management jobs lost.