Qantas executive bonuses take a hit following July cyber attack

The national carrier has slashed executive bonuses following its data breach earlier this year.

Editor’s note: This story first appeared on HR Leader’s sister brand, Australian Aviation.

Short-term bonuses for the executive team, including CEO Vanessa Hudson, were cut by 15 percentage points for 2024–25 due to the impact the attack had on Qantas customers. Hudson herself will take a $250,000 cut from her short-term bonus.

In total, Hudson will be paid $6.3 million for the 2025 financial year, an increase from last year’s $4.4 million, while former CEO Alan Joyce will be paid $3.8 million in his final bonus package after leaving the Flying Kangaroo in late 2023.

Base executive pay has been increased by 3 per cent, with long-term bonuses also rising due to a huge jump in the share price over the last few years.

“While management took immediate action to contain the breach, support customers and put additional protections in place, in recognition of the seriousness of the incident, we decided to reduce 2024–25 short-term bonuses by 15 percentage points for the CEO and executive management,” said Qantas Group chair John Mullen in the company’s annual report.

“This decision demonstrates our commitment to creating a culture of accountability and ownership.”

The incident in July reportedly involved cyber criminals using AI to impersonate a Qantas employee and then tricking a customer service operator in Manila into divulging crucial information.

While no group has publicly claimed responsibility, reports initially suggested that a hacking collective known as Scattered Spider may be behind the attack, though later investigations have pointed to a different group, ShinyHunters.

In total, nearly 6 million customers were thought to be affected.

Mullen also noted the $90 million fine and $120 million compensation imposed for the illegal outsourcing of ground workers in 2020 and apologised to those impacted.

Executive bonuses will not be reduced as a result this year, however, given cuts imposed last year that saw Hudson alone docked $450,000.

“Qantas has accepted the court’s decision and has paid the fine and compensation, bringing closure on the matter. The board comprehensively dealt with the remuneration consequences for management from this matter in 2023–24,” said Mullen.

Major Qantas investors, including super funds, said last month that they were keeping a close eye on executive bonuses for the year as a signal that the Flying Kangaroo had changed its ways.

Qantas in 2024–25 saw a pre-tax profit of $2.39 billion, up 15 per cent on the previous year, translating to $1.61 billion after tax, up 28 per cent.

Around 25,000 non-executive employees will receive $1,000 each in shares under a new plan announced with the results, similar to a scheme announced earlier this year by Virgin to give employees $3,000 in share rights each.