Sainsbury’s boss is in the money
Chief awarded nearly £3.9m, despite failed merger
THE boss of Sainsbury’s got a near 40% bigger bonus - despite failing to bag the Asda merger.
Mike Coupe – caught on camera singing “We’re in the money” when the Asda deal was first announced – pocketed nearly £3.9million in pay and perks last year.
About £2.6m of that was bonuses, including an annual £593,000 reward, up 39% from £427,000 the year before. Coupe got the bonus even though the mega merger with Asda, blocked on competition grounds, cost Sainsbury’s £46m in fees.
Thousands of Sainsbury’s staff have also been hit by controversial changes to employment contracts.
The chain hiked workers’ base pay to £9.20 an hour, but staff lost Sunday premium pay and paid breaks, as well as some bonuses.
Labour MP Siobhain McDonagh warned
9,000 people are worse off under the plans by an average of £400 a year, with the worst hit losing up to £3,000.
She said yesterday: “I always thought bonuses were about rewarding success, but it is clear what they are doing is rewarding failure.”
Sainsbury’s would not comment on whether Coupe offered to forego any or all of his annual bonus.
But questioned last month, he said he was “entirely confident in the performance of the business”. The bill for the blocked merger and other costs, including pensions and restructuring, saw Sainsbury’s annual profits dive 42% to £239m. Stripping this out, underlying profit rose 8% to £635m.
Sainsbury’s finance boss Kevin O’Byrne got £2.2m, according to its annual report.
A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: “Executive pay at Sainsbury’s is set by the Remuneration Committee and bonuses are subject to stretching targets. The business has hit a number of targets this year, including increasing profit, reducing net debt and increasing the dividend, which is why we have paid a bonus to eligible colleagues across the Group.”