Chief executives of some of Australia's biggest companies have thrown their support behind the nation's immigration program, saying it is crucial for bringing in the skilled workers they need and underpins economic growth.

With the federal government expected to cut the immigration intake in next month's budget, the Sydney Morning Herald and Age questioned almost 50 business leaders during the recent corporate earnings season about the economic role of immigration.

Woodside CEO Peter Coleman said he was opposed to cutting Australia's skilled migration intake. Credit:Wayne Taylor

More than half - including the leaders of Telstra, Woodside, Qantas, Suncorp, GPT and Australia Post - highlighted the importance of accessing skilled migrant workers, ranging from software engineers, to scientists, to welders.

While the comments were overwhelmingly positive towards immigration, several acknowledged there had been a failure to build enough infrastructure to accommodate the growing population, which had led to "pushback" in some quarters.