March 28--Mondelez International CEO Irene Rosenfeld saw her total compensation dip about 6.5 percent in 2015 -- from about $21 million in 2014 to about $19.7 million in 2015 -- largely a result of changes in the value of her pension, according to a proxy statement filed Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Though Rosenfeld didn't receive a raise on her base salary, which is $1.6 million, she did see more than $2.1 million worth of increases in cash, stock and stock options tied to company performance, according to the proxy statement. But her pension value shrank from $5.1 million to about $1.4 million.
That decrease is unlikely to garner much sympathy from the 277 workers laid off last week from the longtime Oreo bakery on Chicago's Southwest Side. On Monday, another 66 hourly wage workers, represented by three different unions, received their 60-day layoff notice required by state law. At a protest earlier this month, dozens of workers protested outside a Chicago hotel where Rosenfeld had a speaking engagement, several of them carrying signs with Rosenfeld's photo and accusations of corporate greed.
The layoffs, and expected job cuts yet to come at the bakery, are a result of Mondelez shifting some of its operations from Chicago to a newer plant in Salinas, Mexico, company executives have said. The global snack food company has worked to cut costs and increase profit margins in recent years.
In 2015, net revenues were $29.6 billion, down 13.5 percent from the previous year, but the company still reported growth in profits and operating income, in part through cutting overhead costs and increasing advertising spending.
In total in 2015, stocks, stock options and cash tied to company performance -- including sales and profit growth measures -- represented more than $16 million of Rosenfeld's compensation, according to the financial documents. She also received about $526,000 in executive perks, including personal use of the company airplane.
Total compensation for Brian Gladden, executive vice president and chief financial officer, increased from $6.1 million in 2014 to $7.2 million in 2015.
Mark Clouse, executive vice president and chief growth officer, saw his total compensation more than double -- from $4.3 million in 2014 to $9.9 million in 2015.
Meanwhile, Mondelez and the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers union remain deadlocked on contract negotiations. The local contract covering bakers union employees at the Oreo plant has expired, along with six other local contracts at other facilities.
The two sides are scheduled to resume contract talks next week, according to a Mondelez website devoted to the ongoing negotiations.
gtrotter@tribpub.com
