Tim Cook Agrees To Huge Pay Cut
Apple acts on Tim Cook’s recommendation and severely reduces his salary, but the CEO will still take home nearly $50 million
Apple CEO Tim Cook has reacted to the cost of living crisis and the economic downturn facing most of the world’s population.
CNN reported that Apple shareholders had voted against Tim Cook’s pay package after Apple’s stock fell nearly 27 percent last year.
Cook then recommended that his salary should be reduced and Apple then said it would reduce Cook’s target pay package to $49 million (£45.1m), 40 percent lower than his target pay for 2022.
CEO salary
This is about half the $99.4 million total compensation that Cook was granted last year, CNN reported.
The vast majority of Cook’s 2022 compensation – about 75 percent – is tied up in company shares, with half of that dependent on share price performance, and 2022 was a tough year for Apple, like nearly all other tech firms.
The shareholder rebellion vote was reportedly non-binding, but the board’s compensation committee said Cook had requested the reduction.
“The compensation committee balanced shareholder feedback, Apple’s exceptional performance, and a recommendation from Mr. Cook to adjust his compensation in light of the feedback received,” the company said in its annual proxy statement released last week.
Tim Cook’s share award target has been cut to $40 million, CNN noted. About $30 million, or three-quarters, of that is linked to share price performance.
62 year old Cook’s base salary of $3 million will stay the same, the company said, as well as a $6 million bonus.
The board said it believes Cook’s new pay package is “responsive to shareholder feedback, while continuing both to align pay with performance and to recognize Mr. Cook’s outstanding leadership.”
Tim Cook has been in charge of Apple ever since co-founder Steve Jobs passed away in 2011.
Cook is estimated to have a personal wealth of $1.7 billion, according to Forbes.
However Tim Cook has pledged to give away his entire fortune during his lifetime.
Share decline
The year 2022 has proved to be a challenge for Apple, which has faced supply chain issues in China, coupled with a global economic slowdown and a reduction in consumer spending.
Like other tech firms, Apple’s share price plunged last year as strict coronavirus lockdowns closed some of its factories in China in 2022.
In January 2022, Apple became the first publicly traded company to notch a $3 trillion market capitalisation, yet a year later it has declined nearly $1 billion.
Apple is currently valued at $2.1bn, as of Monday morning.
