Microsoft boss takes pay cut

 

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By Reuters

Posted on 30 Sep 2009 at 07:36

Microsoft paid its chief executive Steve Ballmer 5.5% less for the last fiscal year as the world's biggest software company suffered its first ever drop in annual sales.

Ballmer, CEO since 2000, earned a total of $1,276,627 for fiscal year 2009, which ended 30 June, according to a filing with securities regulators. That is slightly below the previous fiscal year's total of $1,350,834.

Ballmer's salary of $665,833 was up slightly, but his bonus was slashed by $100,000 to $600,000. At his own request, Ballmer receives no compensation in the form of Microsoft shares.

Microsoft lowered compensation for most of its highest-level executives in the last fiscal year. It said in January that it had frozen salaries for fiscal 2010, in response to the difficult economic climate.

The company suffered its first-ever drop in annual revenue in fiscal 2009 and operating profit fell 9% to $20.4 billion. Its shares fell 13.6% over the year.

Even in good times, Microsoft has never made a splash with huge pay packages, although many of its employees and executives have become millionaires by owning Microsoft shares.

Ballmer himself owns about 408 million Microsoft shares, according to Tuesday's filing, worth more than $10 billion.