Qantas has cut short-term bonuses for its senior leadership by 15% after a late-June cyber breach that the airline says exposed the personal data of millions of customers, according to its annual report for the year ended 30 June.
Group chief executive Vanessa Hudson will see her bonus reduced by A$250,000, while five other executives on the Qantas leadership team will lose a combined A$550,000, the report said.
Chair John Mullen said the bonus cuts reflected the leadership team’s “shared accountability” and recognized ongoing efforts to support customers and put in place additional protections, the company said. Qantas said the incident occurred when a cyber criminal targeted a call centre and gained access to a third-party customer servicing platform.
The airline said investigations into the breach may not be finalized for some time but that it was important for executives and shareholders that the remuneration consequences be dealt with this year. Despite the bonus reductions, the report shows senior leadership salaries rose year on year: Hudson’s annual salary was about A$6.3 million versus A$4.4 million in the prior financial year. The group said the five other executives include chief financial officer Andrew Glance and Jetstar Group chief Stephanie Tully.
Qantas reported a full-year underlying pre-tax profit of A$2.4 billion, its second-highest annual profit on record, which the annual report attributed to strong travel demand across market segments.