I can tell you why Qantas sent 850 jobs to India in just two words

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Qantas has spent decades and millions of dollars telling us it’s the Spirit of Australia. But on Tuesday it told 850 of its own staff that their jobs are being outsourced to…

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Qantas has spent decades and millions of dollars telling us it’s the Spirit of Australia. But on Tuesday it told 850 of its own staff that their jobs are being outsourced to Accenture and offshored to India. In the very same year it made a $1.29 billion profit.

I can tell you why decisions like this get made in two short words – executive bonuses. When bonuses are tied to profits, company leaders make short-term decisions that benefit themselves. And the cost of long-term brand damage is really difficult to quantify, so they don’t bother.

But a brand isn’t a logo or a slogan. A brand is a promise, and a good brand is a promise kept. It’s not what you say about yourself, it’s what your customers feel about you.

Nobody ever flew Qantas because it was cheap, and it’s been a long time since it was the best airline in the sky. It was once the safest, but all the others caught up with that. So we flew it because of how it made us feel. And if you were able to watch those kids singing I Still Call Australia Home without a lump in your throat, well, you’re a monster.

We pay more for that feeling, and Qantas knows we do. And before anyone writes brand feelings off as airy-fairy feel-good stuff, the reality is that about two-thirds of the average company’s value can be traced to its brand. It’s an asset worth real money, but Qantas is trading that away to increase short-term profits. Qantas’ reward for cutting jobs showed up within hours – the share price rose 6 per cent – but the brand damage will be long-term.

Qantas didn’t have to look far for a cautionary tale. David Jones, once one of Australia’s strongest and most successful brands, went into administration last week. Going to David Jones once made you feel special. But the company was sold to people who didn’t understand the brand.

The frustrating part is that Qantas has already been through this.

In five years, Qantas fell from…

مطلع المقال، مقتطف من The Sydney Morning Herald. لقراءة المقال كاملًا، افتحه على موقع الناشر.