Amazon shareholders told to rebel on boss’s pay packet
One of the world’s top shareholder groups has told Amazon investors to vote against the pay packet of boss Andrew Jassy and the position of board director Judith McGrath at the firm’s annual general meeting this month.
In a report released today, proxy adviser Glass Lewis said the 2021 pay for boss Andrew Jassy was excessive and the room for further hikes was concerning.
“Mr. Jassy’s pay was approximately nine times the size of the median self-disclosed peer, while revenue was about six times the median. The Company’s asset size is just 2.5 times the median,” Glass Lewis said.
“The disconnect between CEO pay size and the Company size for the year in review from this standpoint indicates that perhaps high pay for a top decile percentile Company size may also be too much pay despite the Company’s size.”
Glass Lewis said the potential for further grants to Jassy in the coming years after his 2021 “mega-grant” exacerbates concerns.
Shareholders have also been advised to reject the election of Judith McGrath, who chairs the leadership development and compensation committees at Amazon, who it said had not done enough to address damage to its reputation related to workplace conditions.
“We believe shareholders should oppose the election of director McGrath as the chair of the leadership development and compensation committee to signal dissatisfaction with the company’s response to these issues,” the report from Glass Lewis said.
Amazon’s annual meeting will be held on May 25.
An Amazon spokesperson said: “What’s shared in our proxy is the grant Andy received when he transitioned from the CEO of AWS to the CEO of Amazon last year.
“The way the SEC rules work we are required to report that grant as total compensation for 2021, when in reality it will vest over the next 10 years. What this equates to from an annual compensation perspective is competitive with that of CEOs at other large companies and was approved by the Amazon Board of Directors.”