As part of the cooperative’s ‘Rebuild Phase’, the Co-operative Group’s CEO Richard Pennycook has taken a 60 per cent pay reduction following protests from members regarding the large pay packets of its executive personnel, TheGuardian.com reports.
Pennycook’s change in payment does not fully come into effect until 2017. Disgruntlement about the group’s executive salaries was expressed at its annual general meeting in 2015.
His basic annual rate of earning will go from £1.25 million to £750,000, though he could earn £1.5 million this year if certain bonus targets are hit.
Co-operative Group chairman Allan Leighton said that "The move by Richard to reduce his pay shows the Co-op difference in action, as we champion a better way to do business for our members and their communities."
The Co-op’s food sales grew by 1.6 per cent over 2015. Investment in its ‘Rebuild Phase’ – including increased staff salaries to living wage standards and other overheads – caused a foreseen fall in revenue from £9.4 billion to £9.3 billion.
© 2015 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Peter Donnelly. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
