Qantas CEO Pay Sinks 83% to $1.2 Million as Covid Axes Bonus
Qantas CEO Pay Sinks 83% to $1.2 Million After Months of No Wage
(Bloomberg) --
Qantas Airways Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce’s compensation fell 83% to A$1.7 million ($1.2 million) in the year ended June as the airline slashed salaries and bonuses to save money during the coronavirus crisis.
Joyce went without pay from early March until August, when he started taking 65% of his base salary, Qantas said in a statement Friday. He got no bonus for the fiscal year, and opted not to receive 343,500 shares tied to his long-term incentive from 2017.
Qantas is cutting as many as 8,500 jobs to weather a near-halt in income due to virus-related travel restrictions. Joyce has previously among Australia’s best-paid executives, receiving more than A$6 million for five straight years as record earnings propelled the airline’s stock.
Joyce was the highest-paid CEO among companies in Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 100 Index in 2018, according to a report last year by the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors. On a so-called realized-pay basis, which includes cash and equity, Joyce was better compensated than counterparts at Macquarie Group Ltd., Treasury Wine Estates Ltd. and Newcrest Mining Ltd., according to the report.
Qantas Chairman Richard Goyder also waived his fees from early March until August. Total executive pay at the airline for the year ended June dropped 69%, the company said.
Joyce’s A$1.6 million base annual salary is expected to remain unchanged in the year ending June 2021, and he will return to full pay on Nov. 1, 2020, Qantas said.
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