<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <docID>325739</docID> <postdate>2024-08-08 10:03:03</postdate> <headline>Ex-Qantas chief loses millions after early takeoff</headline> <body><p><img class="size-full wp-image-325742" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/20230828001835693211-original-resized.jpg" alt="" width="900" height="600" /></p> <caption>Departed CEO Alan Joyce is nearly $10m out of pocket with Qantas trimming his final pay packet. (Joel Carrett/AAP PHOTOS)</caption> <p><span class="kicker-line">By <strong>Jack Gramenz</strong> in Sydney</span></p> <p><strong>Qantas has trimmed almost $10 million from Alan Joyce's pay packet after the former chief's early departure from the airline's top role.</strong></p> <p>Other executives and directors are also facing a cut after action from the competition watchdog and reputational turbulence triggered Mr Joyce's decision to leave the chief executive's job in September, two months before his planned departure.</p> <p>Mr Joyce had been due to leave in November, which would have marked 15 years after he landed in the role in 2008.</p> <p>A tranche of incentive-based shares he held in the airline, valued at $8.36 million at the start of the financial year, will be forfeited.</p> <p>A bonus would also be cut by $900,000, Qantas said in a statement on Thursday.</p> <p>The airline launched a review in October after a 12-month period in which Qantas was accused of advertising tickets for flights it had already cancelled and found to have illegally sacked more than 1600 workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.</p> <p>A $100 million penalty is awaiting court approval for the flight cancellations, while the airline's breaches of the Fair Work Act are also being determined.</p> <p>Mistakes made by the airline's board and management contributed to significant reputational and customer service issues, Qantas said.</p> <p>"The events that damaged Qantas and its reputation and caused considerable harm to relationships with customers, employees and other stakeholders were due to a number of factors," the company said in its statement.</p> <p>The review did not identify any deliberate wrongdoing.</p> <p>Qantas chairman-elect John Mullen said the review has charted a path to restore pride in the airline, which describes itself as the "Spirit of Australia".</p> <p>"It's clear that we let Australians down," he said.</p> <p>"There is still a significant amount of work to be done to rebuild the trust of all stakeholders."</p> <p>The airline's board has committed to addressing the 32 recommendations in independent advisor Tom Saar's review, the company said.</p> <p>Mr Saar said many of those actions are complete or well under way.</p> <p>"While some of the recommendations will take some time to embed across the organisation, if the current momentum is maintained, my expectation is that tangible benefits will occur within a short period," he said.</p> </body>