PC executives have seen their profits and marketshare so decimated by iPad that they now having to make the ultimate sacrifice: slightly smaller bonuses.
Acer — which saw first quarter net income fall off a cliff — announced its board of directors and CEO will take deep cuts in last year’s compensation.
The Taiwan-based company announced its board of directors will take a 50 percent cut in its 2010 compensation package, while Acer Chairman and CEO J.T. Wang will give up his entire 2010 bonus and director’s compensation. Wang’s bonus reduction was “to take responsibility” for a $150 million inventory write-off.
Acer is also sharing the pain with employees, cutting worker bonuses by 40 percent and eliminating 300 jobs in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In late May former Acer CEO Gianfranco Lanci blamed his company executives for not reacting quickly to the move to tablets. Taking a page from Apple, the low-cost PC maker said it will give up earlier plans to sell more volume, instead concentrating on producing products that have wider profit margins.
