Vodafone CEO takes $1.6 million bonus cut after share slide

Vodafone Group Plc said it will cut long-term bonuses for its top two executives by a fifth after an investor advisory group took issue with the U.K. phone company’s remuneration plan. Chief Executive Officer Nick Read and Chief Financial Officer Margherita Della Valle voluntarily requested the reduction of their 2020 long-term share awards, the carrier said in a statement Wednesday. They asked for the cut to reflect the change in Vodafone’s share price, which has fallen about 14% this year after tumbling by around a third in 2018.

Read is giving up about 1.3 million pounds ($1.6 million) in stock, reducing his share bonus to about 5.1 million pounds, according to Bloomberg calculations based on current market prices.

The move heads off a potential showdown with investors at the company’s annual shareholder meeting on July 23. Institutional Shareholder Services, one of the most influential proxy advisers, had recommended that Vodafone shareholders reject the company’s remuneration report.