Qantas boss Alan Joyce to get bonus if he turns company around

Shareholders in Australian flag-carrier Qantas voted overwhelmingly yesterday to award the airline's Irish chief executive, Alan Joyce, a €1.7 million bonus if he succeeds in turning the ailing company around.

Mr Joyce has begun a cost-cutting campaign designed to return the loss-making Qantas Airways to profit that will involve axing up to 5,000 jobs over three years.

Despite the misgivings of some investor groups, 98 per cent of Qantas shareholders yesterday voted in favour of a bonus scheme under which Mr Joyce stands to receive $2.5 million Australian dollars (€1.73 million) if his restructuring plan delivers results.

As a result, the company will grant him close to 3.25 million shares, worth just over $2.5 million, which shareholder activist group, Pensions and Investment Research Consultants (PIRC) said this week is 120 per cent of his base salary.

The airline’s chief executive took a 5 per cent pay cut this year and received no bonus in its 2013-2014 financial year, when it lost $2.8 billion. However, the share-based bonus met with opposition from PIRC which recommended that equity holders vote against it.