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As the coronavirus pandemic ravaged the ride-hailing industry, Uber Technologies Inc. executives took reduced salaries but still reaped millions in bonuses in 2020.
Uber UBER, +2.37% Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi’s compensation last year was $12.2 million, a 71% decrease from the previous year, according to the company proxy released Friday. The CEO-to-employee pay ratio, disclosed as required by law, was 123 to 1, with the annual median pay for Uber employees working out to $99,382.
That ratio does not take into account the millions of drivers or others the company does not consider employees. Uber drivers, like other gig workers in the U.S., relied on emergency government assistance like pandemic unemployment insurance when they saw a drastic drop in demand for their services last year as the pandemic hindered travel and overall mobility. (Under Proposition 22, which California voters approved in November, the state’s gig workers are not considered employees, so they do not qualify for state unemployment insurance.)
In 2019, Khosrowshahi’s total compensation was $42.4 million. But in May of last year, as the company laid off more than 6,000 employees, or 25% of its workforce, and closed or consolidated dozens of offices, he agreed to waive his base salary for the rest of the year. His base salary, which was supposed to be $1 million, totaled $336,598. The rest of his compensation was from $9.5 million in stock awards, a $1.56 million bonus and other costs, including security.
The CEO, who is a high-profile target of protesting drivers and other workers, was provided with security staff, technology equipment and services at his home that were meant to duplicate the security he would’ve been provided at the company’s headquarters, according to the proxy. The “other” compensation that included security for him totaled $848,707.
Chief Financial Officer Nelson Chai’s total 2020 compensation was $11.64 million, while that of Jill Hazelbaker, senior vice president of marketing and public affairs, was $12.61 million. Tony West, chief legal officer, took home $12.3 million, while Nikki Krishnamurthy, chief people officer, had $5.18 million in compensation. The compensation for former Chief Technology Officer Thuan Pham, who left the company last May, was $5.49 million.
The San Francisco company’s executives bonuses were smaller than in 2019, but Uber’s board determined that the executives were “called upon to provide strong and unwavering leadership throughout the COVID-19 crisis” and assessed cash bonuses at a 78% level of achievement of performance targets. Because of that, Khosrowshahi’s target incentive of $2 million was reduced to $1.56 million. Reduced bonuses for Chai, Hazelbaker, West and Krishnamurthy — whose other bonuses were paid in stock — were $624,000, $487,500, $624,000 and $429,000, respectively.
According to the proxy, Uber will hold its 2021 shareholder meeting May 10.
