Kraft Foods has frozen the salaries of its top executives for 2009 as the US food giant looks to be “prudent” during the economic downturn.
Go deeper with GlobalData
The Oreos-to-Dairylea maker announced the move yesterday (10 February) and said its 18 leading executives – and chairman and CEO Irene Rosenfeld – would not get a pay rise in 2009.
The decision does not affect other Kraft employees around the world, while the prospect of executive bonuses will still stand.
A Kraft spokesperson told just-food that it is important for the company to be “prudent with our spending”.
The spokesperson said: “In the spirit of setting an appropriate tone at the top of our organisation during these turbulent times, we have frozen the salaries for the top leaders of our company – our extended Kraft executive team: 18 leaders in addition to Irene Rosenfeld.”
How well do you really know your competitors?
Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.
Thank you!
Your download email will arrive shortly
Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample
We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form
By GlobalDataRosenfeld’s base salary stood at US$1.38m in 2007; her 2008 salary will be published in Kraft’s next proxy statement, the spokesperson said.
Last week, Kraft cut its sales and profit forecasts for 2009 as it posted a 9% fall in underlying net earnings for the fourth quarter of 2008.
Kraft blamed foreign exchange and higher pension costs and added that falling input costs would mean prices would contribute less to sales than expected.
The spokesperson said Kraft had had a “very successful” 2008. “In fact, our results around the world were the best results since our IPO in 2001,” she said.
