Jetstar CEO to depart, Qantas staff set for $5000 ‘boost’

Jetstar chief executive Gareth Evans is departing his role at the end of the year, after 23 years at Qantas Group.

Qantas announced the news in a trading update as it revealed a $1.5 billion drop in net debt over the past six months. It also announced up to 19,000 EBA-covered employees across the Group will be offered a $5,000 “boost” as the carrier continues to recover from the pandemic. The payment will be made to employees once a new enterprise agreement covering them is finalised.

The departure of Evans comes after two decades at the company, Evans served as Qantas chief financial officer and CEO of Qantas International. He started as Jetstar CEO in 2017.

“Gareth has decided this is the right moment to move on,” Qantas said in a statement.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said Evans was a “superb leader”.

“He’s given an incredible amount to the organisation in several key roles, from his time as CFO through major restructuring and most recently as Jetstar CEO as we navigated COVID. When he leaves next year it will be with our sincere thanks and best wishes.”

An internal recruitment process has already begun, with the handover expected to take the most of next year.

More to come

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