While Japanese executives often cut their own pay as punishment for a company's bad performance or wrongdoing, it is highly unusual for a corporate chief to work completely for free.
Elpida president Yukio Sakamoto will accept no salary in November and December and still slash his salary by at least half until the company starts making a profit, the firm said.
Elpida, a leading producer of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips used in cellphones and home electronics, said the decision was symbolic and would not substantially impact the company?s financial condition.
'He wanted to show his strong determination to shareholders to turn around the company's performance,' Elpida spokesman Kumi Higuchi said. |
She declined to specify Mr Sakamoto's salary but said it was already below the average for the president of a listed Japanese company, which she put at 50 million yen (S$724, 133) a year.
Elpida boss to work for free
Posted on Monday, October 20 2008 @ 13:48 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck