每日英語跟讀 Ep.958: As the Pandemic Forced Layoffs, CEOs Gave Up Little 執行長因疫減薪 美國最大工會組織財務長：不過是做做樣子

When the pandemic prompted companies to furlough or lay off thousands of employees, some chief executives decided to show solidarity by forgoing some of their pay.

新冠肺炎疫情使企業界強制數以千計員工放無薪假或予以資遣之際，一些執行長也決定削減薪酬以共體時艱。

But it turns out that their sacrifice was minimal.

不過，事實證明，他們的犧牲只是九牛一毛。

A survey of some 3,000 public companies shows that the cuts — which, so far, have come in the form of salary reductions — were tiny compared with their total pay last year. Total pay includes things like bonuses and stock awards that typically make up the bulk of what corporate bosses take home.

一分針對約3000家美國上市公司的調查顯示，執行長削減薪酬的幅度與去年總薪酬相比，微不足道。到目前為止，削減薪酬皆採減薪的方式。薪酬還包括獎金和股票獎勵之類，這往往是執行長主要的實得收入。

Only a small percentage of the companies cut salaries for their senior executives at all, which is surprising given that the pandemic has crushed profits and sales for many companies, forcing large layoffs. But even among businesses that did cut the boss’s pay, two-thirds of the chief executives took reductions that were equivalent to only 10% or less of their 2019 compensation, according to an analysis by CGLytics, a compensation analysis firm.

只有小部分企業削減執行長的薪水，這在疫情導致許多公司營收和利潤劇減、被迫大裁員之際令人驚訝。不過，根據薪酬分析公司CGLytics的分析，就算在確實遭減薪的執行長中，多達三分之二削減的金額頂多只占2019年薪酬的10%。

Companies in this group include The Walt Disney Co., Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and Marriott International. All of those businesses have laid off or furloughed employees or pressed workers to take pay cuts.

削減執行長薪酬的公司包括迪士尼、達美航空、聯合航空與萬豪國際集團。這些公司不是資遣員工，就是放他們無薪假，或逼他們接受減薪。

This compensation analysis offers another example of how the coronavirus pandemic has walloped the working and middle classes while mostly sparing the people at the very top of the economic hierarchy.

這分薪酬分析資料再度展現，新冠肺炎疫情重創勞動和中產階級，卻大體放過了經濟體系頂層的人。

“These salary cuts were more window dressing than anything else,” said Liz Shuler, secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO.

The labor federation released a report showing that companies in the S&P 500 stock index last year paid chief executives on average 264 times as much as median employees, down from 287 times in 2018.

美國最大工會組織「美國勞工聯盟及工會組織」財務長麗茲．舒勒說：「這些人減薪不過是做做樣子。」該組織公布的報告顯示，名列標準普爾500指數的公司，去年給執行長的薪酬平均是中位數員工的264倍，比2018年的287倍下降。

Of course, this analysis is incomplete because the year is not over. In the coming months, corporate boards could decide to significantly reduce the bonuses and stock options they hand out to top executives for 2020. That would represent a big break from recent years when boards, which are primarily made up of corporate executives and investors, approved ever higher pay packages.

這個分析當然還不完整，因為今年還沒結束。未來數月，各家企業董事會可能決定，2020年大幅減少給執行長的獎金和股票選擇權，這將與近年來董事會的作法大相逕庭，主要由企業高層和投資人組成的董事會，最近幾年同意給執行長更高的薪酬不斷提高。

A few chief executives have already taken a sizable hit. The survey showed that Glenn Kelman, chief executive of Redfin, a Seattle-based real estate brokerage, took a pay cut that was equivalent to the $284,000 he got in 2019.

少數執行長薪酬已大減。這分調查顯示，總部設在西雅圖的房仲公司Redfin執行長凱爾曼，今年減薪28萬4000美元，相當於他去年薪酬總額。

“The reason we did it is because we had to furlough or lay off more than a thousand people,” Kelman said when asked what motivated the decision to withhold his salary. “It’s not just about the pay cut; it’s about the general sense that capitalism is not working for everyone.”

凱爾曼被問到減薪的理由時回答：「我們這樣做，是因為必須強迫一千多名員工放無薪假或將他們解雇。這件事不只關乎我個人減薪，更是為了照顧員工普遍感受，就是資本主義並非對每個人都適用。」

CGLytics surveyed the companies in the Russell 3000 index, which comprises most of the publicly traded businesses in the United States, and found that 419 companies had disclosed details of salary cuts.

CGLytics調查了涵蓋美國大多數上市公司的「羅素3000指數」公司，發現其中419家公布了減薪的詳細資訊。

Source article: https://paper.udn.com/udnpaper/POH0067/356435/web/