In just 11 months since joining Intel Corp in February last year, Chief Executive Officer Pat Gelsinger made 1,711 times more than the typical worker at the U.S. chipmaker, according to a regulatory filing released on Wednesday.
Former CEO Bob Swan earned 217 times more than the typical Intel employee in 2020 than Gelsinger.
In 2021, Gelsinger was paid $178.6 million, with stock awards accounting for nearly 79 percent of his total compensation, which was nearly 698 percent more than Swan’s pay in 2020.
In the United States, executive pay has been increasing. Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple Inc, earned 1,447 times the average Apple employee’s compensation in 2021. Despite the opposition of proxy consulting firm Institutional Shareholder Services, Apple shareholders accepted the remuneration deal.
At the annual stockholders meeting on May 12, Intel has requested shareholders to vote in support of executive compensation. It did not react to a request for comment from Reuters right away.
After taking over as CEO of Intel, which was formerly the world leader in chip-making technology, Gelsinger launched a turnaround strategy to help the business reclaim its dominance in the semiconductor sector, which is currently led by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.
Intel’s stock rose 6.8% last year after falling nearly 17% the year before as the company grappled with a manufacturing crisis and competition. On Wednesday, the stock was up 0.3 percent to $52.41.
Intel unveiled the first outlines of a $88 billion investment plan spanning six European Union countries, including a significant investment in Germany, earlier this month.
Before returning to Intel as its CEO, Gelsinger was the CEO of VMWare Inc. Before leaving Intel, he had worked there for 30 years.
According to the document, his pay included one-time new-hire equity awards with a target value of nearly $110 million.
