International
Qantas slashes former CEO's exit pay after damning governance report
Australia's Qantas said it was cutting its former CEO's exit bonuses by A$9.3 million (S$8 million) after an external review found him responsible for measures alienating travellers, employees and shareholders in the Covid era and beyond. The decisi
The decision marks a gloomy footnote to the 15-year rein of Alan Joyce at Australia's dominant airline, who brought forward his retirement to last September under a cloud of lawsuits alleging unfair pandemic sackings and selling tickets to cancelled flights.
Qantas was one of Australia's top brands for years even as Joyce leaned into controversy. In 2011, he grounded its entire fleet over a union dispute, but the sacking of 1,700 groundstaff in 2020 while collecting Covid stimulus payments, followed by a surge of flight cancellations and lost luggage once Covid border restrictions lifted, prompted analysts to warn the cost of repairing the airline's reputation may hurt profit.
