COVID-19: Disney executives to take pay cuts, Bob Iger to forgo his salary

Several of Disney executives will take pay cuts while executive chairman Bob Iger will forgo his entire salary due to the financial pressures of coronavirus pandemic.

Disney CEO Bob Chapek announced the salary reductions in an interim email, a copy of which was obtained by the Los Angeles Times.

Chapek, who replaced Iger as CEO in February, will take a 50 per cent salary cut, while the company's other high-level executives will take varying pay cuts. Disney's vice president will have their salaries cut by 20 per cent, while senior vice presidents and executive vice presidents will see salary reductions of 25 and 30 per cent, the newspaper said. 

The reductions will go into effect April 5. "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," Chapek said in an email to staff. 

"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." Iger is one of the top earning executives in the entertainment and media industry. The former Disney CEO made USD 47.5 in 2019, which was less than the USD65.6 million in fiscal 2018.