The Walt Disney Company has made a significant announcement regarding the salaries of their top executives during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to The Hollywood Reporter, an internal email sent by Disney announced that Bob Iger was voluntarily forgoing his entire salary, Bob Chapek was waiving 50% of his salary and other top executives were willing to forgo between 20% and 30% of their salaries.
Chapek explained the decision in the email:
“As we navigate through these uncharted waters, we’re asking much of you and, as always, you are rising to the challenge and we appreciate your support. Your dedication and resilience during this difficult time are truly inspiring and it gives me renewed confidence that will we come through this crisis even stronger than before, we have so many times in our company’s history.”
This news comes as Disney has been forced to close its theme parks, push back movie releases and watch its sporting content dry up in the wake of COVID-19. Analysts have already forecast that Disney is losing millions and millions of dollars per day in lost revenue. Disney, who has practically looked invincible as a business for quite some time, is now taking drastic measures to ensure its long-term success in these turbulent times.
Photo via Variety