International Consolidated Airlines Group looks set to face an ‘investor revolt’ over a bonus to departing chief executive Willie Walsh.
Sky News reports that several major shareholders are to vote against IAG’s remuneration report at the annual general meeting of British Airways’ parent company next Monday.
The Times said that shareholders are “set to blow a raspberry at Willie Walsh”, saying that he should not be paid the bonus of £883,000 promised to him for last year.
The remuneration report shows that Walsh was paid a total of £3.2 million last year, up from £3 million in 2018.
On top of perks, pension payments and payouts from long-term incentive schemes, Walsh’s pay includes an £883,000 annual bonus, more than his annual salary of £850,000.
Sky News said the looming row follows a recommendation by Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), the influential voting advisory agency, to oppose the pay report.
“The vote is not binding, but is still likely to cause IAG embarrassment in the wake of a six-month period in which it has been forced to rely on emergency government funding and support from shareholders to survive the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Sky News.
IAG has furloughed tens of thousands of staff and battled with trade unions over plans to axe more than 10,000 BA jobs.
Walsh was supposed to step down earlier this year but delayed his retirement because of the pandemic.
In March, he agreed to reduce his basic pay by 20% for the remainder of his tenure, said Sky News.