Australia’s second-biggest supermarket company is reportedly planning to offshore hundreds of jobs to India, just days after it was revealed another iconic local brand would do the same.Coles plans to outsource marketing, finance, human resources and technology jobs as part of an extended deal with consultancy firm Accenture, reports the Australian Financial Review.The outlet reported local job cuts could range from in the hundreds to more than 1000 under the deal worth hundreds of millions of dollars.Most of the positions lost would be moved to India, while some would be done by Accenture 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 5000 roles in its corporate offices, and the prospected job cuts were not expected to impact its grocery and liquor store retail operations.The news follows reports that up to 1000 Qantas jobs could also be sent offshore to India under the arline’s own deal with Accenture.NewsWire reported this week a decision on whether to outsource or cut roles in marketing, finance, human resources and other back-office jobs was expected later in the year.A Qantas spokesperson said it was “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”.“We have been exploring partnerships that have the capability to support us and are in early stage discussions with Accenture, but no formal agreement is in place and no decisions have been made,” they said.Coles’ rival Woolworths in June announced it was moving corporate jobs to Asia.At the time, the company said its decision to offshore IT, HR and finance roles was partly influenced by rising competition in the market.“To continue our commitment to deliver the dependable low prices and better shopping experiences our customers expect, and to remain competitive with the rapid expansion of international players in the market, we are focused on removing complexity, increasing productivity and driving efficiency across our business,” a spokesperson said.Coles and Woolworths are facing some increased competition in the form of tech giant Amazon’s recent partnership with Harris Farm to offer same-day delivery groceries.The deal launched in January saw 55,000 non-perishable grocery items and everyday essentials available to purchase from the Amazon website.Amazon is already a major player in the US grocery market and has been making strides in Australia in recent years.Accenture, domiciled in Dublin, has emerged as a major player in corporate Australia in recent years with some of the nation’s biggest companies turning to its services.The IT firm has grown its Australian revenue by a third since the Covid pandemic to $3 billion, according to consultancy.com.au.Among its biggest clients is Telstra, which inked a $700 million “global AI joint venture” deal in 2025.