Embattled Qantas chairman Richard Goyder has revealed plans to step down amid mounting pressure on his position, but unions say his proposed exit will be too slow.
Qantas on Wednesday announced that Goyder – who had been the subject of calls to move on in the weeks since several controversies forced the early exit of former chief executive Alan Joyce – would retire before the company’s annual general meeting in late 2024.
Governance experts and investor advocates had been calling for his immediate resignation before the upcoming AGM for this year, to be held next month in Melbourne.
The veteran business leader, who holds five chairmanships – including at Qantas, Woodside and the AFL – had remained defiant, telling a Senate inquiry late last month that “major shareholders are very strongly supportive of me staying”.
However, on Wednesday, Goyder acknowledged his exit was required to help the beleaguered airline recover from its brand crisis.
“As a board, we acknowledge the significant reputational and customer service issues facing the group and recognise that accountability is required to restore trust,” Goyder said.
Goyder said Qantas had gone through an “incredibly difficult period” throughout the pandemic.
“The recovery has not been easy and mistakes were made. We again apologise for those times where we got it wrong.
“I have always sought to act in the best interests of Qantas. Measured and orderly succession at board level will support the important work underway led by Vanessa [Hudson] and her new management team. Fundamentally, the group is in a very strong position to overcome its current challenges and deliver for all its stakeholders in the years ahead.”
The Transport Workers’ Union national secretary, Michael Kaine, criticised Wednesday’s announcement as an “attempt to retire in dignity” after presiding over controversies.
“This announcement is an attempt by Goyder to leave in a dignified manner with another year’s pay in his pocket, after presiding over the largest case of illegal sackings in Australian history,” Kaine said.
“This isn’t genuine board renewal, this is just shuffling the deckchairs … With no worker representation, Qantas governance has ignored the needs of the workforce and decimated jobs and standards.”
Australian and International Pilots Association president Tony Lucas said the union, who had previously called for a board reset, “note today’s announcement as the start of that process and hope it will help facilitate the renewal of our great airline”.
“Obviously, we would prefer things to move more quickly, but we acknowledge that at least now we are heading in the right direction,” Lucas said.
Qantas has been fanning multiple flames in recent months. The airline announced a record $2.47bn profit in August after a year of stubbornly high airfares and a period of billions it had enjoyed in government Covid subsidies.
At the same time, Qantas was facing intense frustration from customers furious at strict rules around Covid flight credits and a deterioration in cancellation rates and service quality.
Days after unveiling its record profit, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced it was taking legal action against Qantas and would be seeking hundreds of millions in penalties after an investigation led it to allege the airline had been selling tickets to thousands of flights it had already cancelled in its system.
This led to Joyce bringing forward his carefully timed plan to step down from the role in November, with new CEO Vanessa Hudson’s first weeks in the job marred by debate about the airline’s influence in government following the Albanese government’s decision to reject its rival Qatar Airways from launching extra flights to Australia.
In September, Qantas also lost a landmark legal case it had challenged in the high court, which ultimately upheld a decision that the airline’s decision to outsource 1,700 ground handlers during the pandemic was illegal.
The airline now faces a mammoth compensation claim for that matter in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
With Qantas’ share price notably down over recent months, governance experts as well as politicians and union chiefs had called for Goyder’s resignation. They claimed that the airline could not begin its reputational repair with Goyder, who had led the board and backed Joyce’s decisions in recent years, still in his position.
In addition to the news that Goyder will step down, Qantas announced other changes to its board.
It had already been announced that non-executive director Michael L’Estrange will retire at this year’s AGM on 3 November.
On Wednesday, Qantas said that “to facilitate further renewal”, Jacqueline Hey and Maxine Brenner will retire at the Qantas half-year results in February 2024 after 10 years of service.
“As planned, three new directors will offer themselves for election at this year’s AGM (Doug Parker, Dr Heather Smith, and CEO and Managing Director Vanessa Hudson) as well as two existing directors (Todd Sampson and Belinda Hutchinson),” Qantas said.