Not everyone has been affected by the crisis linked to the Covid-19. In 2021, the average compensation of executives in the CAC40 reached 8.7 million euros, a record driven by exceptional bonuses. Comprising a fixed part and a variable part, it has been multiplied by two over one year, and by 60% compared to 2019, according to figures compiled by the company specializing in European listed companies Scalens.
The amount of the remuneration is significantly larger than the 5.4 million euros expected in August 2021 by Scalens, which then bore the name of the Hebdo des AG, with the law firm Avanty. Symbol of this surge, the general manager of Stellantis Carlos Tavares (Peugeot-Citroën-Fiat, etc.) should receive 19 million euros for the exceptional year 2021, according to the group. On April 15, a majority of shareholders nevertheless voted, in an advisory capacity, once morest the manufacturer’s wage policy.
The new bosses “pay themselves a lot more”
The fixed part increased by 19% because “the new guard” of the leaders arrived “pays much more expensively”, according to the report. The variable components progressed even more, during a year when the companies of the CAC 40 approached 160 billion euros in profits, according to a calculation by AFP, a record in the wave of the strong economic recovery. Exceptional bonuses reached 2.1 million euros per executive on average in 2021.
In addition, for non-financial variables, companies have defined criteria, but which were deemed “too easy” by investors, according to the report. In 2022, Scalens expects fixed salaries to remain stable. The target variables have been raised by 10% but “they will be more difficult to achieve” in a context of slowed growth. “Hence the insistence on keeping the” exceptional bonuses “”, notes the platform.