> It could be that the market is shifting away from that company for some external reason
The CEO is the main strategy and vision guy at the company. They're supposed to be able to foresee market shifts. If they don't do that, why do they deserve to be paid so well? Because they negotiated so hard with their golf buddies on the board?
It's a one-year pay cut, not the end of the world.
> or that those employees were truly redundant.
Maybe. In that case, the long term increase in stock price should make up for any short-term pay cuts, right? The CEO will benefit eventually too.
The CEO is the main strategy and vision guy at the company. They're supposed to be able to foresee market shifts. If they don't do that, why do they deserve to be paid so well? Because they negotiated so hard with their golf buddies on the board?
It's a one-year pay cut, not the end of the world.
> or that those employees were truly redundant.
Maybe. In that case, the long term increase in stock price should make up for any short-term pay cuts, right? The CEO will benefit eventually too.