Despite the decline in many economies around the world and the resulting job losses, top executives, particularly in the tech industry, continue to earn millions of dollars. Companies are also cutting costs by eliminating perks such as free snacks and laptops. However, this has not affected the earnings of CEOs and other top executives.
In Alphabet’s recent filing, it was revealed that CEO Sundar Pichai earned almost $226 million in 2022, while Google laid off 12,000 employees globally and suspended several services, including free snacks and laptops.
Google recently disclosed its intention to reduce its workforce by 6 percent, resulting in the elimination of 12,000 jobs. However, it has been reported that CEO Sundar Pichai’s annual earnings are over $200 million, which is over 800 times the median salary of the company’s employees.
Following the massive layoffs, Pichai announced that he will be taking a substantial pay cut in January 2023. It is yet unclear how much of a reduction in salary he will be taking.
In spite of Sundar Pichai’s announcement of a pay cut this year, the Google CEO earned significantly more than the previous year, receiving over 800 times the median salary of a Google employee. Of the $226 million paid to Pichai, $218 million was from the stock award portion, which is given to him every three years. In 2019, he was awarded $281 million.
Apart from the stock award, Pichai’s earnings for 2022 comprised a $2 million base salary and more than $5 million for private security detail.
