Joyce is expected to be paid about $24 million this financial year,including bonuses and his base salary,but the total figure will not be known until the company issues its annual report later this month.
The Transport Workers’ Union – long-standing critics of Joyce – called for him to be stripped of his bonuses,and the board has recently been pressured by Labor MPs and institutional advisersto consider withholding Joyce’s short-term bonus.
Goyder said the Qantas board had “clawback provisions” it could use to reduce Joyce’s remuneration for the year “if necessary”.
Joyce,who in May announced he would retire in November,said in a statement the events of the past few weeks made it clear the company needed to move ahead with its renewal. “The best thing I can do under these circumstances is to bring forward my retirement and hand over to Vanessa and the new management team now,knowing they will do an excellent job,” Joyce said.
Goyder defended Joyce’s time in charge of the airline group – which controls 60 per cent of the market through Qantas and Jetstar – but acknowledged the confidence of the public had plummeted since COVID-19.
“This transition comes at what is obviously a challenging time for Qantas and its people. We have an important job to do in restoring the public’s confidence in the kind of company we are,and that’s what the board is focused on,and what the management under Vanessa’s leadership will do.”
The intense scrutiny of Qantas over the past 10 days has caused multiple state and federal MPs from all sides of politics to accuse Qantas of behaving anti-competitively,with many also accusing the federal government offailing to curb the carrier’s influence following its rejection of Qatar Airways’ attempt to double its flights last month.
Labor senator Tony Sheldon – a fierce critic of Joyce and former Transport Workers’ Union stalwart – said Joyce’s retirement was welcomed,but Goyder should also step down.
“Alan Joyce’s legacy is a workforce split across 38 companies and a brand now synonymous with low pay,insecure work,illegal sackings and consumer rip-offs,” Sheldon said.
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“The board has backed Joyce’s behaviour at every step and must be held equally accountable for the disgraceful state of the company.”
Multiple senior fund managers,who spoke with this masthead on Tuesday but declined to be named,said Goyder should also step down after failing to exercise proper governance of Qantas for too long.
Federal Transport Minister Catherine King said Joyce’s departure “provides an opportunity for new leadership”.
“The decision by Alan Joyce to stand down as chief executive officer of Qantas marks the end of one era and the start of a new one with both major Australian airlines led by women,” she said in a brief written statement.
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Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke took aim at the airline’s reliance on labour-hire arrangements that put its workforce on different pay rates as the government clamps down on the loophole.
“I’ve been very conscious that when we talk about the labour-hire loophole,most companies don’t use it. But Qantas is a company that has been using the labour-hire loophole in a pretty extraordinary way,” Burke said,adding he would work with Hudson to ensure her staff were paid fairly.