Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, typically receives millions of stock bonds each year based on how they operate. It is now willing to raise even more, with a total payment of nearly $ 200 million according to CtW Investment Group, a pension fund advocacy organization. And all thanks to a clause in his contract that was recently triggered by the company’s strong performance throughout the pandemic.
Like the Call of Duty Kotick, the manufacturer’s CEO, gets bonuses based on helping the company achieve profit goals and other milestones. And as 2020 saw the price of Activision Blizzard shares rise sharply as millions of people indulged in games to distract themselves during the pandemic, it is on track to collect all the incentive bonds he lost in recent years, in addition to the tens of millions it earns annually, due to an incentive clause for value creation for the shareholder of the contract.
As of March 2016, the company’s stock price was around $ 32 per share. Last March it had already risen to $ 56 and, since the start of the pandemic, has only risen, reaching a high of $ 100 at one point last month before falling back to just under $ 92. Because the shares have remained more than double what they were when they were Kotick’s Labor agreement 2016 came into force for more than 90 days, the provision of “shareholder value creation incentive” was activated earlier this month. “On March 1, 2021, the performance conditions for the four-year performance period from 1/1/17 to 12/31/20 underlying these top-level performance unit awards were met.” , says Activision Blizzard most recent SEC filing.
“While the increase in the price of Activision shares is somewhat commendable, as we stated last year and continues to assert, this achievement alone does not justify such a substantial salary result for the CEO,” said CtW Investment Group researcher Michael Varner in a statement. In a phone call with Kotaku, Varner called a “maximum level” payment the equivalent of suite c of running a six-minute mile, and said Activision Blizzard basically retrospectively awards gold medals to Kotick for its past performance based on the price of the most recent actions.
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CtW Investment Group has criticized CEO remuneration at many companies, including one of the largest gaming companies. He called for wage inequality and Kotick’s significant bonuses at last year’s annual Activision Blizzard shareholders meeting, and has been pushing the company’s board of directors to step back to how much it enriches the company’s head for a decade. Since Activision Blizzard had record sales last summer, Bloomberg reported that some of its employees began sharing their personal payroll information among themselves to protest the lack of promotions in proportion to the company’s continued success.
While the pandemic has made Kotick even richer, it has not ended the layoffs at Activision Blizzard. The company said goodbye approximately 800 people in early 2019, Followed by hundreds more in the following months, the closure of its French office, and yesterday it was confirmed that between 50 and 190 more people would be let loose, including its sports division, which has struggled over the past year during the ban on face-to-face gaming events.
Bloomberg reported that more recently laid off employees will receive year-round health benefits as part of the termination package. They would also receive $ 200 gift cards on Battle.net, I guess, so they can still buy the latest Overwatch skins, even without a job, and even when your old boss is about to get millions of extra bonuses.
Activision Blizzard did not respond to any requests for comment.