Fox’s Rupert, Lachlan Murdoch to forgo salary due to hit from coronavirus

(Reuters) – Fox Corp Chairman Rupert Murdoch and Chief Executive Officer Lachlan Murdoch will forgo their salaries in response to the coronavirus crisis, according to an internal memo sent to employees on Wednesday.

Other executives including Chief Operating Officer John Nallen, Chief Legal Officer Viet Dinh and Chief Financial officer Steve Tomsic will also forego their salaries through Sept. 30, effective immediately, the memo said, adding that pay cuts will impact about 700 Fox employees.

“The rest of my direct-report executive team will reduce their salaries by 50% through the same period. And from May 1st through July 31st, 2020, our executives at the VP level and above will reduce their salaries by 15%,” said CEO Murdoch in the memo.

The most-senior members of the company will take pay cuts so Fox is able to protect its full-time employees with salary and benefit continuation during the crisis, Murdoch said.

The company would also suspend compensation raises throughout, including for the board, the memo added.

Last month, Walt Disney Co also announced compensation changes in response to the pandemic and said Executive Chairman Bob Iger will forgo his salary and newly named Chief Executive Officer Bob Chapek will take a 50% pay cut.

(Reporting by Akanksha Rana in Bengaluru)