Publicis Groupe is set to slash the salary of global chairman and CEO Arthur Sadoun (pictured) by 30 per cent amid a $850 million cost-cutting plan in response to the growing coronavirus crisis.
Executive chairman of the supervisory board Maurice Levy will also have his salary cut by 30 per cent, while management board members will lose 20 per cent of their pay.
The pay cuts are part of a €500 million (AU$854m) cost reduction plan as the holding group and its agencies deal with the economic blow of the novel coronavirus.
Publicis Groupe said in a statement on Monday: “We are taking exceptional measures to face the coming recession and preserve a solid balance sheet.
“There is no doubt that we are going through an unprecedented health crisis that will lead us to the greatest recession in living memory.”
The group also revealed its Q1 earnings on Monday, nothing an organic growth decline of 2.9 per cent to $2.7 billion (AU$4.2b), which is in line with expectations set before the pandemic.
While organic growth in the US was at five per cent, the company was weighed down by double-digit declines in China. Growth in the APAC region slid 1.9 per cent to $219 million (AU$342m). Organic growth in Europe was also down by 9.2 per cent.
Publicis said: “The month of March was seriously affected by the continuous decline in China and the abrupt deterioration in Europe, due to COVID-19 confinement measures.”
