Virgin Australia boss Paul Scurrah is leaving his post next month.
After a day of intense speculation about his future at the airline, Scurah confirmed he will depart when new owner Bain Capital completes all the takeover formalities.
He leaves next month and will be replaced by Jayne Hrdlicka, who was a partner at Bain and former Jetstar CEO.
"Having seen the company through COVID-19, voluntary administration, the sale to Bain Capital and the redesign of the business, I will be stepping down as CEO and Managing Director," Scurrah said.
"I have made this decision after some long discussions with my family. The time feels right, and I know the business will be in good hands."
Virgin was forced to announce the change sooner than it probably planned to.
This happened because the Transport Workers Union abruptly suspended talks over collective bargaining as Bain couldn’t give it guarantees that there would not be a management shake-up.
The union went public and slammed Bain.
The union believes it plans to pivot to a LCC and cut many more jobs.
The Bain takeover was sold to creditors, including employees, on assurances it would remain a full-service airline.
"The ink is not yet dry on the sale of Virgin and it appears Bain Capital are behaving as we feared: ripping out the heart of Virgin and reneging on promises to the Australian people," TWU National Secretary Michael Kaine said in a statement.
"If the plan and scope of the airline as outlined in August by Bain Capital has already been scrapped then this is a serious betrayal that must be addressed."
Written by Ray Montgomery, Asia Editor
