According to regulatory documents released Monday, Intel shareholders voted against the company compensating its top executives last week.
The vote is suggested and will not directly impact Intel executive salaries but sends a signal. That some Intel investors closely follow CEO Pat Gelsinger’s performance and progress on his plans to transform the chip giant. Overall, shareholders, who represent about 34% of the shares, voted in favor of the package. In addition, shareholders representing about 920 million shares voted in favor of those who voted. While those representing 1.77 billion voted against.
The vote is the news example of shareholders opposing executive compensation packages that could include hundreds of millions of dollars in company stock.
For example, in April, AT&T shareholders voted against a measure to compensate executives. According to As You Sow, an activist investor group, 16 companies will have CEO pay packages rejected by shareholders by 2021.
According to financial documents, Gelsinger took over. As Intel’s chief executive officer in February 2021 and received a $178.59 million compensation package later that year. Compensation includes salaries over $1 million, bonuses of $1.75 million. Stock awards over $140 million, and nearly $30 million in options awards.
After Gelsinger took over, he began turning Intel over as the once-dominant chipmaker lags in production and losing market share to rival AMD. Gelsinger said Intel would spend a lot of money building new chip factories. Apart from developing its chips, Intel would also be a contract manufacturer for other chip designers.
Gelsinger may not receive a portion of the capital received – the actual payment depends on the development of Intel’s stock over five years. Intel announced that the bonus payout would be track at 0% in late January. As Intel’s stock was trading lower than when Gelsinger acquired it.
“The Compensation Committee believes that 73% of the new CEO’s compensation. Contingent on ambitious share price growth, is in the best interests of Intel and its shareholders,” Intel said in a statement.
Last year’s compensation measure also failed and only got 38% approval.
“The committee takes the results of this vote seriously and is very focus on gathering. And following up on feedback from our shareholders about Intel’s CEO compensation program,” Intel said in a statement, citing last year’s vote.
Other Intel employees for 2021, according to the documentation, also include Sandra Rivera. General manager of the company’s data center business, three former executives who are leaving in 2021. And a CEO who plans to leave this month.