Former Qantas boss exit pay slashed by millions
Qantas, the Australian airline, has decided to reduce the leave payout of its former CEO following a string of controversies and expensive court proceedings.
The business has informed investors that Alan Joyce’s multi-million dollar compensation will be reduced by more than 40%.
Additionally, Qantas will reduce senior executives’ short-term incentives by more than a third.
Simultaneously, Qantas made public the results of an examination of the management of the business under Mr. Joyce’s tenure.
The airline stated that “several factors contributed to the events that hurt Qantas and its reputation and seriously harmed relationships with customers, employees, and other stakeholders.”
Although intentional misconduct was not discovered, the inquiry revealed that the board made errors.
Mr Joyce was due to receive A$21.4m ($14m; £11m) after leaving the firm last year but the package will now be cut by A$9.26m.
He was chief executive for 15 years when he led the company through the 2008 global financial crisis, the Covid pandemic, and record fuel prices.
However, by the time he stepped down in 2023, Qantas was facing growing public anger over high fares, mass delays and cancellations as well as its treatment of workers.
Last year, Qantas lost a High Court case over the sacking of staff during the pandemic.
In May, it also agreed to pay A$120m to settle a lawsuit over the sale of thousands of tickets for flights that had already been canceled.
Mr Joyce’s successor, Vanessa Hudson became the first woman to lead the airline when she took over last September.
He had been set to leave the firm in November but stepped down two months earlier than planned.
At the time, Mr Joyce said attention on “events of the past” made it clear this is “the best thing” he could do.
