ITV Executive Board Takes 20% Pay Cut During Coronavirus Lockdown
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U.K. broadcaster ITV has cut the pay of its executive directors and management board by 20% and scrapped their annual bonuses in light of the coronavirus crisis.
In a statement, ITV said the cuts had been approved by its renumeration committee and were made at the request of its executive directors. These include chief executive Carolyn McCall and group CFO Chris Kennedy.
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The cost saving move comes after ITV announced on 23 March a number of measures to reduce its costs and manage its cashflow in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including shelving dividend payouts to shareholders.
Today, ITV said the annual bonus for the executive directors and management board has been canceled and there will be no cash bonus payable to relating to the company’s performance in 2020.
The voluntary 20% reduction in base salary will last for the duration of the current government-imposed lockdown. In the event that the lockdown continues beyond 30 June 2020, ITV’s renumeration committee will review the cuts again at that time.
ITV’s non-executive directors will also take a 20% reduction in their fees for the same period of time.
McCall had a base salary of £923,000 ($1.1 million) in 2019, and total earnings of £3.84 million ($4.7 million) including bonuses and pension contributions. Kennedy’s 2019 base salary was £565,000 ($695,000) while his total renumeration was £2.25 million ($2.77 million).
Chairman and non-executive director Peter Bazalgette’s fees stood at £450,000 ($554,000) in 2019.
As part of the cost saving measures ITV has introduced, it has already put in place a recruitment and salary freeze across the company.
In its statement, ITV said it “continues to closely monitor the impact of Coronavirus on the ITV group, recognising that circumstances continue to change rapidly and that further measures may be necessary.”
The measures come a day after Sky’s top brass, including Comcast CEO Brian Roberts and Sky CEO Jeremy Darroch, donated their entire salaries to charities supporting COVID-19 relief efforts.
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