New York: Netflix shareholders voted to reject pay packages for the company’s leadership, including Co-CEO Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters, a non-binding protest against lavish pay for top media executives.
Sarandos is supposed to make as much as $40 million between his salary, bonus and stock options while Peters, who was named co-CEO in January, is supposed to make $34.6 million. Reed Hastings, the company’s co-founder and executive chairman, will earn $3 million.
The shareholders voted against the proposed compensation during an annual meeting, according to a person familiar with the matter. Netflix’s board can disregard the results, as they have in the past, though the vote is significant given the current strife between major Hollywood studios and screenwriters.
Striking Hollywood writers have lambasted media companies for paying their executives too much money, pointing to the salaries of Walt Disney Co. chief Bob Iger and Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. boss David Zaslav, among others. The writers say they are asking for an increase in salary that is less than a handful of moguls make per year. The Guild began a strike in early May with its members demanding higher pay amid rapid changes in the way people watch their programs and films.
Most of the votes were in before the Writers Guild of America, which represents more than 11,500 screenwriters, recommended the shareholders to vote against the packages in a public letter last week, said the person, who declined to be identified.
