
CtW noted that several pension funds with stakes in Uber, including CalSTRS, CalPERS (the nation’s largest) and the Florida State Board of Administration, have disclosed votes against Uber’s CEO pay proposal.
Last week, ahead of releasing its first-quarter earnings, Uber announced a plan to lay off 3,700 full-time employees, or 14 percent of its workforce, as ride-sharing orders plummeted during the coronavirus quarantine. In a move to show his commitment to the company-wide cost reduction, Khosrowshahi said he would waive his salary for the rest of 2020. Still, salary comprises only a tiny portion of Khosrowshahi’s total compensation.Uber pays Khosrowshahi an annual base salary of $1 million, which is fairly within the range of what CEOs of comparable tech companies are paid. But last year, he received a total pay package worth $42.4 million, comprising of that $1 million in base salary, $2 million in bonus, $37.4 million in equity award and $2 million in reimbursement for work-related expenses.
Last month, Uber faced similar backlash against its CEO pay plan from another investor advisory firm, Institutional Shareholder Services, Bloomberg Law reported. “Uber’s board must go beyond accepting symbolic executive pay cuts and work to restore investor confidence in the sustainability of the company’s business plans by committing to accountability and strong oversight for the long-term,” Dieter Waizenegger, executive director of CtW Investment Group, said in a statement. In 2019, Uber paid its seven top executives a total of $11.4 million in salary and cash bonus, plus $71 million worth of equity awards, according to regulatory filings. *By Sissi Cao via The Observer*