Joyce ‘retires’ early 👍
So Alan was supposed to depart today but it’s been delayed due to ‘operational requirements’.
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I did like this part of his farewell letter to his "devoted" staff:
"Leading an airline that has been operating successfully for over 100 years is a tremendous honour. (surely he means was a tremendous honour) There have been lots of highs and lows over that period- and we've lived through a few of both lately..."
He really is delusional when he starts invoking the Royal We. Surely he can't really think that collectively the staff have lived through any lows lately, they have been living through it for the last 15 years! If anything staff morale has improved with the eager anticipation of the Emperor's demise.
"Leading an airline that has been operating successfully for over 100 years is a tremendous honour. (surely he means was a tremendous honour) There have been lots of highs and lows over that period- and we've lived through a few of both lately..."
He really is delusional when he starts invoking the Royal We. Surely he can't really think that collectively the staff have lived through any lows lately, they have been living through it for the last 15 years! If anything staff morale has improved with the eager anticipation of the Emperor's demise.
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Just heard “aviation expert” Geoffrey Thomas on the radio saying Joyce was a good CEO who should be remembered as having taken QF shares from $1 to where they are now. Insightful
Did he leave earlier than expected to make sure he got his money before any further possible Board actions?
Being a mathematician I reckon he has done his " sums " very carefully
Being a mathematician I reckon he has done his " sums " very carefully
“This transition comes at what is obviously a challenging time for Qantas and its people. We have an important job to do in restoring the public’s confidence in the kind of company we are, and that’s what the Board is focused on, and what the management under Vanessa’s leadership will do,” added Mr Goyder.
the kind of company we are? One that screws its employees and customers for the benefit of the élite executives.
the kind of company we are? One that screws its employees and customers for the benefit of the élite executives.
Just heard something on news related to employees being underpaid, lets see where that goes along with all the other investigations going on.
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All credit to Matt Golding from The Age
OPINION
Qantas board makes a martyr of Joyce, but no one buys it
Elizabeth Knight
Business columnistSeptember 5, 2023 — 12.04pmSave
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Normal text sizeALarger text sizeAVery large text sizeA Crisis-ridden Qantas Airways has been in desperate need of a circuit breaker, and Alan Joyce’s scalp should have been it.
Instead, Joyce offered himself up, rather than being forced by the board to leave the company.
As sacrifices go – this isn’t much of one. Joyce was already set to leave in two months’ time anyway.
As sacrifices go - this isn’t a big one. Joyce was already set to leave in two months.CREDIT: NINE The optics might go in Qantas’ favour, but the difference in a practical sense is minor.Instead of acknowledging and taking accountability for being the most complained-about company in Australia, and one that allegedly misled and deceived its customers, the Qantas board has offered hearty praise for Joyce.
The board said Joyce’s willingness to fall on this cash-blunted sword is evidence of him putting the company first and doing what is in the company’s best interests.
The fact that it was Joyce who told Qantas chairman Richard Goyder that he would retire early rather than the board forcing his hand is itself instructive. It recasts Joyce from commercial hard man to being a martyr.
But most people including his staff will never see him in that light.Goyder said on Tuesday that Joyce’s departure was “against his [Joyce’s] every instinct” because “Alan operates at 100 per cent all the time and would see the challenges [which Qantas now has] were his to deal with”.
‘Regretful, but appropriate in the circumstances’
At a hastily convened board meeting on Monday night, Goyder sought feedback from each director on Joyce’s offer to go. He said that the “overwhelming response was that [Joyce’s departure] was regretful, but appropriate in the circumstances”.The board understood the incoming chief executive Vanessa Hudson needed clean air to move ahead, but directors were not prepared to push Joyce. This is despite the fact that the company’s share price has been falling since the ACCC announced its legal action against Qantas at the end of last week.
The jump in the value of Qantas stock on the news of Joyce’s departure suggests that even his rusted-on shareholder supporters understood that he had now become toxic.
Asking Joyce to leave would have been an impossible difficult backflip for Goyder, who has regularly described him as the most talented chief executive in the country. Play Video
Play video
4:09
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce's shock departure
Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce will walk away from the airline's top job two months earlier than expected.
Thus right to the end, it was Joyce calling the shots.
Now two questions remain that will really test the board.
The first is its willingness to claw back any of Joyce’s long-term incentive bonuses that remain in escrow.
It is a matter that Goyder says has yet to be decided. It will doubtless depend on how the case made by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission plays out. The competition regulator has accused the airline of selling seats on flights it had already cancelled – the so-called ghost flights.
There is $24 million potentially on offer for Joyce, some of which will be at the board’s discretion.
The regulator has also come down hard on Qantas for its poor record of cancelling flights – and disputes the airline’s explanation that the cancellations are due to forces outside its control, like air traffic control or weather. Cancellations are often Qantas’ attempt to optimise its network or manage landing slots, the competition watchdog claims.
The next test for the Qantas board will be its willingness to reframe how it prioritises its stakeholders.
Hudson has the opportunity to repair the airline’s damaged brand by listening to its customers’ frustrations, including their inability to redeem their classic rewards points or use their COVID-era flight credits on later flights without having to pay up to double the price.
This is not the legacy Joyce would have wished for himself. He would rather be remembered as the person who managed a Herculean turnaround in performance of the airline to produce a record profit nudging $2.5 billion.
Seems his last major decision didn’t go to plan. Rather than going down in history as an aviation martyr, it’s clear this is a CEO heading for the departure lounge with a blemished record.
All the negative press the company has been receiving lately has been focused on AJ. His departure will probably be the catalyst for the airline to have its reputation renewed in the wider public. At the coalface the engagement issues with staff will take longer to fix and be an actual issue for VH. However I suspect that will be played out mostly behind closed doors, and in the short term I can’t see VH cop as much bad press as AJ.
The first thing VH could do for the public would be to remove the yes stickers and support for the campaign. QF will remain neutral I think the punters would be happy with that, and so would the CC and check in staff who are being abused.
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He will known for forcing people to take a vaccine , that didn't stop transmission or help in anyway to stop the spread, in order to board a qantas plane internationally.
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short flights long nights
GT has been on Perth radio saying what a honourable person AJ is and what a great job he did at Qantas. 🤮🤮
The vast majority of us don’t care about those anti-vax rantings anymore bro. Only the nutter fringe element who have made it such a part of their identity they can’t ever let it go.
Last edited by dr dre; 14th Sep 2023 at 03:03.
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“Whether it was in a meeting room, a hangar or a galley, I have always been deeply impressed at the passion and professionalism of all of you.”
(Except for when I called you ‘rogue pilots’ and ‘kamikazes’, and didn’t want you ‘polluting the culture’ of Jetstar.)
(Except for when I called you ‘rogue pilots’ and ‘kamikazes’, and didn’t want you ‘polluting the culture’ of Jetstar.)
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Just like McGowan…but don’t start me. Biggest f^ck up of the century yet no one seems acknowledge / remember / give a ****.
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Vanessa will make every appearance of changing things but I'd be _very_ surprised if anything of real substance changed at all. Dragon Man said it all in post 2 of this thread. She would have been part of (if not a driving force) behind every decision since the lockout and it's Senate inquiry - if not before.
If I were in her seat I know exactly what I would do and it would change staff morale quickly, but it would still take time - a ship the size of Qantas has built up a considerable head of steam over the past 15 years, changing course even 20' will pose problems. Given Vanessa has been an integral part of _ALL_ current decisions and the strategies in place, I really doubt that in a few years time we will be looking back on today and thinking much changed at all.
GT truth. He's an 'expert' after all
If I were in her seat I know exactly what I would do and it would change staff morale quickly, but it would still take time - a ship the size of Qantas has built up a considerable head of steam over the past 15 years, changing course even 20' will pose problems. Given Vanessa has been an integral part of _ALL_ current decisions and the strategies in place, I really doubt that in a few years time we will be looking back on today and thinking much changed at all.
GT, when did Joyce take the Qantas shares from a $1.00?
‘Yes’ stickers!? Vaccines?! Geez there are some clowns in here.
If that’s your take away from this, then you’re as deluded to the wants and wishes of customers as Joyce was.
If that’s your take away from this, then you’re as deluded to the wants and wishes of customers as Joyce was.
Last edited by Fonz121; 5th Sep 2023 at 10:39. Reason: Grammar innit
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Most staff want better T&Cs and real career progression not outsourcing.
Everything else is just a fringe element injecting their beliefs into the situation.
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