Australia’s national carrier cuts former boss Alan Joyce’s salary

Australian airline Qantas said it would cut the departure package of its former chief executive Alan Joyce following a series of scandals and costly legal cases that resulted from decisions made during his tenure.

The company told investors that the A$21.4m ($14m; £11m) payout Mr Joyce was due to receive when he left the company last year would be reduced by A$9.26m.

The company also says other current and former senior executives will see their short-term incentives decline by 33%.

The statement came on the same day Qantas released the results of a review into a number of issues the company faced under Mr Joyce.

“The events that damaged Qantas and its reputation, and caused significant damage to relationships with customers, employees and other stakeholders, were caused by a number of factors,” the airline said in a statement.

“While there was no finding of intentional illegal activity, the review found that errors were made by the Supervisory Board and management.”

Mr Joyce, who served as CEO for 15 years, led the company through the 2008 global financial crisis, a pandemic and record fuel prices.

But when he left office in 2023, Qantas was facing growing public discontent over high ticket prices, mass flight delays and cancellations, and its treatment of workers.

Mr Joyce’s successor, Vanessa Hudson, became the airline’s first female chief executive when she took over as chairman in September last year.

He was scheduled to leave the company in November but resigned two months earlier than expected.

At the time, Mr Joyce said the recent focus on “past events” made it clear this was “the best he can do”.

The airline has become the subject of growing public discontent after posting record profits despite a series of scandals.

Last year, Qantas lost a High Court case over staff layoffs during the pandemic.

In May, the airline also agreed to pay A$120 million to settle a lawsuit over the sale of thousands of tickets for flights that had already been cancelled.