Qantas Cuts Former CEO's Payout By US$6 Million

SYDNEY, Aug 8 (Bernama-dpa) -- Australian airline Qantas announced a reduction of A$9.26 million (US$6 million) from the multi-million-dollar payout of former CEO Alan Joyce, reported German news agency dpa.

Among the reasons behind the decision, Qantas cited a loss in a court case over the illegal firing of staff in 2020 and a settlement with consumer watchdog ACCC over the advertisement of tickets for thousands of flights that the company had already cancelled but not removed from sale. 

Qantas was set to pay an A$100 million penalty, subject to Federal Court approval, as part of the settlement with the ACCC. The carrier also agreed to a A$20 million customer remediation programme.

Penalties for the firing of ground staff were still to be determined.

Qantas said that it would forfeit 100 per cent of the shares held on Joyce's behalf "in relation to the 2021-2023 Long Term Incentive Plan, valued at A$8.36 million."

The carrier also said that "affected current and former senior executives," including Joyce, would see their short-term incentives reduced by 33 per cent, for a total of A$4.1 million for the 2023 financial year. 

Qantas said that its board took into consideration information that arose as part of a review released on Thursday in reaching the decisions.

"While there were no findings of deliberate wrongdoing, the review found that mistakes were made by the Board and management which contributed to the Group’s significant reputational and customer service issues," the statement said.

Joyce's payout package had been worth about A$23 million when he resigned from Qantas last year after 15 years with the company, according to local reports. 

He was replaced by former chief financial officer Vanessa Hudson, the first female boss of the carrier in its 103-year history.

--BERNAMA-dpa