Executive Pay a Growing Thorn in E&P Investors' Sides

摘要

Investor scrutiny of executive pay has intensified amid mounting US E&P bankruptcies, as million-dollar C-Suite bonuses coincide with large-scale layoffs. Before Chesapeake Energy filed for bankruptcy in June, the shale gas pioneer made a variety of moves intending to stave off what seemed inevitable. Assets were sold, credit terms were renegotiated and hundreds of workers were laid off (NGW Jul.6'20). Then in May, the producer determined that current executive compensation ''would not be effective in motivating and incentivizing the company's workforce,'' according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). As a result, retention bonuses worth $25 million went to 21 executives.