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Apple chief executive Tim Cook will see his annual pay package slashed by more than 40% this year. The technology giant says Mr. Cook requested the cut after criticism from shareholders. Apple's compensation committee awarded him a total "target compensation" of $49M for 2023. Cook, 62, who became CEO after the co-founder Steve Jobs stepped down before his death in 2011, was paid $99.4M in 2022 and $98.8M in 2021.
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Cook’s annual base salary and bonus will remain unchanged at $3M and $6M respectively. But the “targeted” amount he will be given in share-based bonuses will fall from $75M last year to $40M this coming year. The amount given in share bonuses will also be more dependent on Apple’s share price performance than it was last year. Now 75% of the share bonus is dependent on Apple’s stock market performance, up from 50% last year. Apple’s shares have fallen by 23% over the past 12 months to $133.41 at the close on Thursday, raising concerns among some shareholders.
Why it matters
Last year Apple shareholders were urged by a leading investor advisory group to vote against Cook's pay package. In a letter to investors, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) said there are "significant concerns" over the "design and magnitude" of the package. The ISS said Cook's pay was 1,447 times more than the wage of an average Apple employee. However, Covid lockdowns at factories in China, supply chain delays and a global economic slowdown have helped push down Apple's share price by more than 20% over the last year.
