Amidst Layoffs, Some Executives Opt for Cutting Their Own Pay

Executives are often criticized for earning way more than their fair share. In 2020, CEOs of the top 350 firms in the U.S. earned 351 times more than a typical worker.

In the wake of massive layoffs, which can have detrimental effects on individuals, it begs the question how many executives have or would be willing to step up and take a pay cut in order to reduce or eliminate the need for layoffs at their organization.

With this question in mind, in January, ResumeBuilder.com surveyed 1,000 U.S. executives at companies with more than 100 employees.

Key findings:

• 78% of executives say their company has had layoffs in the past 6 months; 70% say there will be layoffs in next 6 months.
• 66% of executives have taken a salary cut in the past 6 months, and 94% say this was to prevent or reduce layoffs.
• 1 in 4 executives who had salary cut took a 30% hit or more; 5% had salary cut by at least 90%.
• 67% of executives who haven’t yet taken a salary cut say they would be willing to in order to prevent or reduce layoffs.
• 60% of executives say non-exec employees’ well being is "extremely important."

For more information about the survey's findings, click here.