Sydney, Australia, Aug 8 (EFE).- Australian carrier Qantas announced Thursday that it has slashed former CEO Alan Joyce’s final pay packet by AU$ 9.26 million ($6 million) after a series of events that caused “considerable damage” to the company and its reputation.
Joyce held the post from November 2008 until September 2023, when he was embroiled in a controversy due to a lawsuit against the airline for selling tickets for canceled flights and a series of complaints about the treatment of its passengers, as well as the illegal sacking of its workers.
In 2023, Australia’s consumer watchdog sued Qantas for selling thousands of tickets for more than 8,000 flights that had already been canceled between May 21, 2021 and July 7, 2022.
To settle that lawsuit, Qantas agreed in May to pay a AU$100 million fine as well as around AU$20 million to more than 86,000 customers, who were sold tickets on flights that the carrier had already decided to cancel.
In September 2023, the Supreme Court also rejected the airline’s appeal against a ruling that said that it had illegally fired 1,700 workers in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, which opens the door for those affected to request compensation on various legal fronts.
The layoffs and other factors worsened the airline’s punctuality and had repercussions on baggage delivery problems, which worsened the blow to its reputation.
“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 service issues,” Qantas said in the statement on Thursday. EFE
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