Disney’s top two execs — Bob Iger and newly-installed CEO Bob Chapek — will be taking pay cuts while the company weathers the coronavirus pandemic.
Iger, who is now executive chairman, will forgo his entire Disney salary, while Chapek will take a 50% pay cut. Other top executives will be taking reduced salaries between 20% and 30% depending on their title. Iger, one of the highest-paid executives in Hollywood, earned $47.5 million during the most recent fiscal year.
Early this morning, Disney joined other companies in making deep cuts in salaries for executives. Iger will forego all of his salary. From the company-wide email: pic.twitter.com/8WGjkqYFxy
— Brooks Barnes (@brooksbarnesNYT) March 30, 2020
Disney did not immediately respond for comment. Last week, Disney extended the closures of its theme parks indefinitely.
Additionally, resort and parks cast members will continue to be paid through April 18. Park closures were first announced on March 13 due to the spread of the coronavirus. Initially, Disney said it will continue to pay its cast members until the end of March. The company also recommended that any employees able to work from home — including those at its film studio and TV business — do so.
Disney also raised roughly $6 billion through a debt offering this month.
In addition to its theme parks, Disney has suspended cruises and delayed theatrical distribution worldwide as theaters have been ordered to close and people to stay in their homes. Some analysts estimate Disney could lose $500 million just from closing its parks through the end of March, and hundreds of millions more depending on how long the spread of the coronavirus persists.
Disney has also been forced, like many Hollywood film and TV studios, to shut down productions; and the cancellation of other events, such as the NBA, have impacted on the company’s businesses as well.
“We expect the ultimate significance of the impact of these disruptions, including the extent of their adverse impact on our financial and operational results, will be dictated by the length of time that such disruptions continue which will, in turn, depend on the currently unknowable duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of governmental regulations that might be imposed in response to the pandemic,” the company said in an SEC filing earlier this month.