4 ms·
The claim was not that they can't reduce but that an 80% discount was too much to ask of people (and thus also their families). I don't think anyone at any pay
by sambe 6y ago
The claim was not that they can't reduce but that an 80% discount was too much to ask of people (and thus also their families). I don't think anyone at any pay level would be happy being paid 20% of similar roles. Perhaps the problem was putting people in these roles in the first place that would accept 20% of market rate. Raising their pay subsequently doesn't make them better at their job!
The quote is not really crazy:
"Executive compensation is a general topic -- are execs, esp CEOs paid too much? I'm of the camp that thinks the different between exec comp and other comp is high. So then i think, OK what should mozilla do about it? My answer is that we try to mitigate this, but we won't solve this general social problem on our own.
Here's what I mean by mitigate: we ask our executives to accept a discount from the market-based pay they could get elsewhere. But we don't ask for an 75-80% discount. I use that number because a few years ago when the then-ceo had our compensation structure examined, I learned that my pay was about an 80% discount to market. Meaning that competitive roles elsewhere were paying about 5 times as much. That's too big a discount to ask people and their families to commit to."
https://answers.thenextweb.com/s/mitchell-baker-aGY62z?comment=7603 https://answers.thenextweb.com/s/mitchell-baker-aGY62z?comme...
- TheOperator 6y agoProblem is that the CEO isn't worth the discount rate never mind being worth the raise.
- dingaling 6y ago> . I don't think anyone at any pay level would be happy being paid 20% of similar roles. First, an 80% discount would still leave the CEO on a very comfortable salary. They're not going to have to dumpster-dive for dinner. Second, what about doing the job on principle? Plenty of people volunteer their time to good causes for no money whatsoever.
- sieabahlpark 6y agoNot everyone wants to do volunteer work in the first place. They want to be compensated, perhaps so they could support a family instead of living with their parents. Can't do that if you're working for free or minimum wage
- staticassertion 6y agoI took a major financial hit to be a CEO, and as a CEO I feel personally responsible for the company's success. My compensation is primarily in ownership and stock - I would never take a massive pay raise if my company were failing, let alone repeated massive raises over years of company downturn. And then to wipe out a massive portion of your employee base? I find it abhorrent, personally.
- gok 6y ago> My compensation is primarily in ownership and stock This would be impossible for Mozilla's structure
- staticassertion 6y agoI'm certainly curious as to why, they have a board and shareholders, no? Regardless, it changes little about my point. I'm not saying a CEO shouldn't earn a nice salary, but to repeatedly take raises during a downturn, a downturn so severe you had to completely gut projects, is gross.
- dblohm7 6y agoThe Mozilla Foundation is the sole shareholder of the Mozilla Corporation.
- staticassertion 6y agoThanks for that.
- anigbrowl 6y agoI use that number because a few years ago when the then-ceo had our compensation structure examined, I learned that my pay was about an 80% discount to market. Meaning that competitive roles elsewhere were paying about 5 times as much. Well...bye.
- kybernetikos 6y agoExactly. The right thing to do here if that bothers you, isn't to hollow out Mozilla, it's to go and take one of those other jobs that you believe you can get.
- kelnos 6y agoPerhaps they should find someone skilled who is willing to take that 80% discount from market. Baker has clearly not been worth her increased salary; I don't even think she's worth the original 20%-of-market salary, given how Firefox's market share has dropped precipitously, and Mozilla has been forced to lay off staff. Sure, you're probably not going to get a 100%-of-market-rate CEO for a 20%-of-market-rate salary, for CEOs who only care about compensation. But I think that's ok, especially given that some CEOs aren't even worth 20%. And you're much more likely to get someone who actually cares about the mission.
- jamienicol 6y agoHas firefox's marketshare dropped precipitously since Baker became CEO, or has it just continued a steady decline?
- jbay808 6y agoWhen I make this argument to tech companies in Vancouver (where typically compensation is an 80% discount from right across the border in Seattle), the response is usually that I can move if I want to. Couldn't she just have gone and become CEO at a different company if she wanted to make more, like the rest of us do?