Amazon CEO pay: Andrew Jassy’s compensation plunges from $212 million to $1.3 million

Amazon.com CEO Andrew Jassy’s 2022 pay plunged to $1.3 million, a sharp drop from his compensation package of $212 million in the prior year.

The pay cut means that Jassy, who stepped into the role in 2021, earned less than Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who now serves as executive chair and earned $1.6 million last year, according to the company’s annual proxy statement filed Thursday.

Amazon is struggling with losses and a slowdown in sales, with last year’s financial performance representing “one [of] the worst financial years in its history,” according to GlobalData analyst Neil Saunders. Jassy is orchestrating thousands of job cuts to trim costs as shoppers pull back on spending amid high inflation and pinched budgets.

Jassy’s $1.3 million in compensation includes a salary of $317,500 and benefits such as 401(k) investments and security costs of $981,000, the proxy said. 

“The [compensation committee] did not grant Mr. Jassy a periodic equity award in 2022, even though the Committee has typically granted periodic restricted stock unit awards to our executive officers in even-numbered years,” the regulatory filing noted. 

The proxy noted that Jassy’s 2021 compensation package of $212 million included a large stock award, which will vest over 10 years and “is intended to represent most of Mr. Jassy’s compensation for the coming years.”

However, it noted that because of the plunge in Amazon’s stock price, that stock grant is now worth “less than half of its grant date value as of the end of 2022.” 

Still, it’s not as if Jassy is about to enter the poorhouse. Jassy owned about 2 million shares of Amazon.com as of February 2023, according to the proxy — stock that is worth about $203 million, based on Friday’s trading price.