BP shareholders’ meeting today is due to be a rocky affair with some investors expected to attempt to block chief executive Bob Dudley’s 20 percent pay rise.
BP is facing cost cutting and job cuts in response to a turbulent few years for the company, a time period that has included the Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, an accident that resulted in a large fine being imposed on the company by the US Congress.
Dudley’s pay rise will take his annual salary to around £14 million. Shareholder group Sharesoc has branded the rise as ‘simply too high’.
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Meanwhile, the Institute of Directors warned on Wednesday that the pay increase risked sending ‘the wrong message to other companies’.
IoD director-general Simon Walker said the ‘pay package will seem unjustified to many shareholders, considering the performance of the company over the past 12 months’.
Last year, BP made a £3.6bn loss and announced that thousands more jobs would be cut.
The vote on BP’s remuneration report is not binding, however if the margin of those who vote against the rise is high then it will place a large amount of pressure on the board to act.
Robert joined the HRreview editorial team in October 2015. After graduating from the University of Salford in 2009 with a BA in Politics, Robert has spent several years working in print and online journalism in Manchester and London. In the past he has been part of editorial teams at Flux Magazine, Mondo*Arc Magazine and The Marine Professional.
