The CEO of Air France-KLM Benjamin Smith will see his compensation for 2022 boosted by a catch-up after the end of the constraints linked to Covid-19. This increase remains subject to a green light from the general meeting scheduled for June.
Up to five million euros, five times more than in 2021. This is what Air France-KLM CEO Benjamin Smith should receive for 2022. Benjamin Smith will see his compensation for 2022 boosted by a catch-up after the end of the constraints linked to Covid-19, according to a document published Monday evening.
Complex, the salary of the manager includes, in cash, a fixed salary and a variable part linked to the performance of the company, but also long-term elements, also conditioned on objectives, but paid in shares.
Unfrozen variable portion
Benjamin Smith’s salary jumped in 2022, compared to the previous year. This remuneration was boosted by the return to profits for Air France-KLM, but also by the lifting of the constraints linked to state aid. The Franco-Dutch group has, in fact, reimbursed all state aid linked to the health crisis. This therefore allows his boss to find his remuneration conditions, before these are framed by Brussels.
Result, Benjamin Smith will receive nearly 3 million euros. This amount includes his fixed salary and his variable part for 2022, linked to the performance of the company, as well as his variable part for 2021 which was blocked until now. To this sum of three million, will be added a bonus payable in shares worth 2 million euros.
Benjamin Smith’s treatment has often been questioned. Dutch MPs were the first to denounce scandalous bonuses. While salary inequalities between CEOs and employees have been increasing in recent years. Benjamin Smith, 51-year-old Canadian, was reappointed in 2022 to his post until 2027.