Automation Theatre, Not AI Leadership

Telstra’s AI promises unravel amid job cuts, dependency on Accenture, and rising customer complaints.

• Telstra’s AI story clashes with job losses, worsening customer metrics, and shifting accountability.

• The pending Accenture joint venture outsources critical capability, creating structural dependency.

• Innovation hubs and Copilot rollouts remain theatre without transparent ROI and independent evidence.

Vicki Brady, Telstra CEO

Telstra wants to cast itself as Australia’s AI pioneer. Its Connected Future 30 strategy outlines a bold vision for autonomous networks, generative AI agents, and world-class employee engagement. It is designed to reassure investors, impress partners, and present a story of digital leadership by 2030.

But the last three months reveal a different narrative. Job cuts are explained away with contradictory reasoning. Customer complaint metrics show Telstra is performing worse than its competitors. And its pending joint venture with Accenture risks hollowing out the very AI capability Telstra claims is central to its future. This is not a transformation. This is automation theatre.

Contradictions at the Core

On May 27, 2025, CEO Vicki Brady told The Guardian: “We don’t know precisely what our workforce will look like in 2030, but it will be smaller than it is today,” citing AI efficiencies in customer service and engineering as a “significant unlock”.

Just six weeks later, Telstra announced 550 job cuts, about 2 per cent of its workforce, targeting the enterprise division. The company insisted that these were “not a result of AI,” but rather structural repositioning.

This whiplash is corrosive. Investors hear inconsistency. Employees hear spin. Unions hear obfuscation.