Qantas Board gives in to pressure and will step down

After months of intense public and political pressure, the Board of Directors of Qantas has given in. The airline announced a ‘Board renewal’ that sees much-criticized Chairman Richard Goyder step down, but only by late 2024. Other members will be replaced sooner. 

The influential Transport Workers Union (TWU) and other unions representing white and blue-collar Qantas staff like pilots as well as members of parliament have been calling on Goyder to step down.

They said that Qantas needs urgent reforms that can’t be executed by the same management team that is held responsible for the reputational damage and drop in customer confidence.

Qantas has been under fire for poor customer service, including missing baggage and poor feedback, as well as troubling its relations with unions and the workforce. Last month, the High Court upheld two earlier verdicts that said that the airline had breached the Fair Work Act and had illegally outsourced 1.700 ground staff during the Covid crisis in 2020.