Australian airline Qantas says it will reduce the exit package of its former chief executive, Alan Joyce, following a series of scandals and costly lawsuits that resulted from decisions made during his tenure.
The A$21.4 million ($14 million; £11 million) payout Joyce was due to receive after leaving the company last year will be reduced by A$9.26 million, the company told investors.
The company also says other current and former senior executives will see their short-term incentives reduced by 33%.
The announcement came on the same day that Qantas released the findings of a review into how the company is run.
“The events that have damaged Qantas and its reputation and caused considerable damage to relationships with customers, employees and other stakeholders are due to a number of factors,” the airline said.
“While there were no findings of deliberate wrongdoing, the review concluded that errors were made by the Board and management.”
Joyce, who was chief executive for 15 years, led the company through the 2008 global financial crisis, the pandemic and record fuel prices.
However, by the time he left office in 2023, Qantas was facing growing public outrage over high fares, mass delays and cancellations, and the treatment of workers.
Joyce’s successor, Vanessa Hudson, became the first woman to lead the airline when she became chief executive in September last year.
He was supposed to leave the company in November, but left the position two months earlier than expected.
At the time, Joyce said that recent attention to “events of the past” made it clear that this was “the best thing” he could do.
The airline has been the target of growing public outrage after making record profits despite a series of scandals.
Last year, Qantas lost a High Court case over staff redundancy during the pandemic.
In May, it 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.
