Most Eli Lilly employees will not be expecting raises this year. The Wall Street Journal reports that the company told employees the reason amounts to patent expirations and poor sales. The WSJ says Lilly is also reducing cash-bonuses targets for most of its workers, and Monday’s news marks the company’s second pay freeze in three years.
Lilly’s CEO John Lechleiter’s compensation has also gone down. The executive’s compensation totaled $11.2 million last year, compared to $14.6 million the year before. A lack of change in the net present value of his pension accounted for most of the drop from 2012, when the value of his pension increased by $4.4 million.The WSJ also notes that while Lechleiter’s base pay and salary stayed the same in 2013 and 2012 “Lilly’s board last year granted him a 20% increase in his stock award target,” due to his “excellent leadership,” how his industry peers were compensated and his consistent progress.
AbbVie’s employees got somewhat different news. Crain’s Chicago Business reports that the company doubled CEO and Chairman Richard Gonzalez’s salary to $18.2 million in 2013. The bump marked his first year as head of a firm—Crain’s notes that Gonzalez’s total compensation was $7.9 million when he was a VP at Abbott.
