Qantas slashes former CEO Alan Joyce's exit pay

Qantas' former CEO Alan Joyce's exit bonus has been reduced by A$9.26 million ($6.1 million). The board of directors determined that ""considerable harm"" was done to Qantas' reputation under Joyce's leadership on August 8, 2024. Joyce's final remuneration payout for full year 2023 had originally totalled A$21.4 million ($14 million). The full amount had been pending an external review of the performance of Australia's dominant airline. The board also withheld the balance as the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) investigated Qantas ""misleading customers"" regarding flight cancellation processes. Qantas had admitted to these practices and is set to pay a A$100 million ($65.6 million) penalty. In addition, the board was waiting to finalise the package as the High Court ruled that Qantas had breached the Fair Work Act when it outsourced ground handling work. The penalty for this is yet to be determined. The company said these events had ""damaged Qantas and its reputation and caused considerable harm to relationships with customers, employees, and other stakeholders"". Qantas continued: ""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 services issues."" The payout cut consisted of two prongs. One, the board determined that 100% of Joyce's shares held on his behalf - valued at A$8.36 million ($5.5 million) - in relation to the 2021-2023 long term incentive plan would be forfeited. Secondly, the board also reduced his short term incentive in full year 2023 by 33% valued at approximately A$900 million ($590.1 million). The company had originally determined Joyce's short term incentive to be cut by around 20%. The board determined that the short term incentives for affected current and former senior executives will also be reduced by 33%. ""In reaching these decisions, the board has considered the individual and collective accountability of members of the group management committee,"" Qantas read in a statement. ""The board has also taken into account their performance in bringing Qantas through the pandemic and the challenges of standing up the airline through that period."" The overall reduction in short term incentives is approximately A$4.1 million ($2.7 million). The company also published its full governance review report. In a joint message from Qantas chairman Richard Goyder and its chairman elect John Mullen, they discussed Qantas' said: ""As COVID-19 restrictions eased and the industry began to normalise in 2022, it was clear that the group failed to consistently deliver the reliable and quality service expected by our customers."" They continued: ""We once again apologise for those times where we got it wrong. The group is focused on rebuilding the trust of all our stakeholders and restoring pride in Qantas as the national carrier."" ""There was too much deference to a long-tenured CEO who had endured and overcome multiple past operational and financial crises,"" the report determined. It added that engagement between the board and management did ""not always facilitate robust challenge on some issues"". It recommended that more dialogue, debate, challenge, and reviews become the norm for the board in the future. In general, the report called for greater optimisation of board operations such as reallocating meeting times to increase the effectiveness.