Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, regularly receives millions of stock bonuses based on how the company is doing. According to CtW Investment Group, a trade union pension fund organization, it will now get even more for a total payout of almost $ 200 million. And all thanks to a clause in his contract recently caused by the strong share performance of the company throughout the pandemic.
Like the Call of Duty Kotick, CEO of Kaker, receives bonuses based on the company’s help to achieve profit goals and other milestones. And because Activision Blizzard’s share price jumped dramatically in 2020 as millions turned to games to distract themselves during the pandemic, it’s on track to collect all the incentive bonuses he has missed over the past few years, in addition to the tens of millions he earns annually, as a result of an “incentive for shareholder value creation” in his contract.
In March 2016, the company’s share price was approximately $ 32 per share. In March last year, it climbed to $ 56, and in the year since the pandemic began, it only climbed higher, reaching a peak of more than $ 100 last month before reaching just under $ 92 again. wash. Because the stock more than doubled when it was Kotick’s 2016 service agreement has been in operation for more than 90 days, the provision for incentive for shareholder value creation was implemented earlier this month. “On March 1, 2021, the performance conditions for the four-year performance period from 1/1/17 to 31/12/20 underlying these performance share awards were reached at the maximum level,” reads Activision Blizzard’s most recent SEC filing.
“While the increase in Activision’s share price is somewhat commendable, as we said last year and still claim, this performance does not justify such a significant salary outcome for the CEO,” said Michael Varner, researcher at CtW Investment Group. a statement said. In a phone call with KotakuVarner calls a “maximum level” the c-suite equivalent of a six-minute mile, and says Activision Blizzard awards Kotick gold medals for its past performance based on the latest share price.
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CtW Investment Group criticizes the payment of CEOs at many companies, including one of the biggest games. It mentioned pay inequality and the significant bonuses of Kotick at the annual meeting of Activision Blizzard’s shareholders last year, urging the board of directors to call back how rich it makes the company’s decade-long boss. As Activision Blizzard boasted record sales last summer, Bloomberg report that some of the employees started sharing their personal pay information internally to protest a lack of increases in relation to the company’s continued success.
Although the pandemic made Kotick even richer, the dismissal at Activision Blizzard did not end. The company fired in early 2019 about 800 people, followed by hundreds more in the following months, the closure of his French office, and only yesterday confirmed it that there will be between 50 and 190 more people going, including in the esports department, which has struggled over the past year during the ban on personal gaming opportunities.
Bloomberg report that the recently fired employees will receive health care benefits during the year as part of their severance package. They would also get $ 200 gift cards to Battle.net, I think, so they can still buy the latest Ear Watch even while they are unemployed, and even while their former boss is on the verge of collecting millions of extra bonuses.
Activision Blizzard did not respond to a request for comment.