In yet another example showcasing the disparity in the corporate world, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai made some $226 million in 2022 as he laid off thousands.
Alphabet did what was once unthinkable for the company, announcing in January that it was laying off some 12,000 employees. The layoffs have not gone smoothly, with company employees in London staging a walkout in protest and some workers complaining that the company is breaking previous commitments.
Adding to the controversy is the news that Pichai’s compensation totaled roughly $226 million, according to Reuters, or “more than 800 times the median employee’s pay.”
While it’s true that a company’s board of directors determines the CEO’s pay, the executive is not exactly powerless. Apple CEO Tim Cook gave a good example of a CEO who asked for a pay cut in 2022 in an effort to help reduce company expenses.
Similarly, Wefox CEO Julian Teicke took the industry, and CEOs in particular, to task for not doing enough to protect their employees.
“I believe that CEOs have to do everything in their power to protect their employees,” he said. “I haven’t seen that in the tech industry. And I’m disgusted by that.”
“These are humans,” he added.
Undoubtedly, many now see Pichai as the new poster child of CEOs who don’t care for their employees.
