Grant Thornton: Half of U.S. companies are freezing executive base salaries in 2009 - 10 Mar 2009

Grant Thornton: Half of U.S. companies are freezing executive base salaries in 2009

"Companies are expecting 2009 to be a challenging year for business
growth and financial stability," said Don Nemerov, a Compensation and
Benefits executive director at Grant Thornton LLP. "As they recast
business plans for leaner times, this is impacting executive
compensation programs dramatically."

In regards to bonuses, 69 percent of companies are paying out 2008
bonuses below targeted levels, with more than a quarter not rewarding
bonuses at all for 2008. Looking forward, companies report that 2009
bonus budgets will be the same or lower than 2008.

Other survey findings include:

Long-Term Incentive (LTI) Plans - For 2009, about half of all
companies are reducing grant values and adjusting the number of
underlying shares granted, reflecting the effort to balance
competitiveness while conserving authorized plan shares.

Underwater Stock Options - More than half of public companies have more
than 75 percent of their outstanding stock options underwater. More
than half of these companies have implemented or are considering a
re-pricing or exchange program to address their underwater options.

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