Disney Executives Take Pay Cut Due To Coronavirus Impacts
News 30-Mar-2020
Disney executives are taking pay cuts as the parks are closed (and other parts of the business are put on hold) due to the current Coronavirus pandemic. Disney CEO Bob Chapek is reducing his salary by 50%, other executives are reducing their salary between 20% and 30%. Bob Iger, Disney's previous CEO, has agreed to give up 100% of his salary.
Currently, Disney is paying hourly based cast members up until April 18th. CEO Bob Chapek shared the below email with cast members about this move.
This is a trying period for all of us and as we navigate these challenging times together and make adjustments in our daily lives, we’re grateful for everyone’s continued flexibility and understanding.
The pandemic is also having a devastating impact on the global and U.S. economies, and it’s hurting businesses like ours exceptionally hard. In a matter of weeks, we’ve experienced widespread disruption across our company, with our domestic parks and hotels closed indefinitely, our cruise line suspended, our film and TV production halted and theatrical distribution delayed both domestically and internationally, and our retail stores shut down. While I am confident we will get through this challenging period together and emerge even stronger, we must take necessary steps to manage the short- and long-term financial impact on our company.
In light of this, we are going to be implementing a variety of necessary measures designed to better position us to weather these extraordinary challenges. Among them, we will be asking our senior executives to help shoulder the burden by taking a reduction in pay – effective April 5, all VPs will have their salaries reduced by 20%, SVPs by 25%, and EVPs and above 30%. I [Chapek] will be taking a 50% reduction in my salary. This temporary action will remain in effect until we foresee a substantive recovery in our business. Our executive chairman, Bob Iger, has chosen to forgo 100% of his salary.
As we navigate the these uncharted waters, we’re asking much of you and, as always, you are rising to the challenge and we appreciate your support. Your dedication and resilience during this difficult time are truly inspiring, and it gives me renewed confidence that we will come through this crisis even stronger than before, as we have so many times in our company’s history.
