Bonuses take dip at Norfolk Southern

By Robert McCabe
The Virginian-Pilot
© March 14, 2010

At Norfolk Southern Corp., the buck stops here when it comes to bonuses.

The pay packages of its eight highest-ranking executives took a hit in 2009, another reflection of the tough year just passed, according to the company's recently released proxy statement. Everyone's performance bonus, pegged to company benchmarks, was off by at least 62 percent from 2008.

Wick Moorman, the railroad's chairman, president and CEO, made $12.8 million in total compensation for 2009, down 8 percent from $13.9 million the previous year. His performance bonus dropped 65 percent - from $1.76 million to $613,700. His base pay remained the same, at $950,000.

Moorman's perks for the year included $38,626 for use of corporate aircraft and $4,800 for annual physicals.

The railroad's net income dropped to $1.03 billion for the year, down from $1.71 billion in 2008, a nearly 40 percent plunge. Total revenues slid to about $8 billion, from $10.7 billion a year earlier, reflecting the recession's impact on rail freight.

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Mr. Moorman's big pay cut

Submitted by philipt99271 on Tue, 03/16/2010 at 9:16 pm.

From the headline and first paragraph, it would seem that Mr. Moorman took a big hit when his performance bonus dropped 65% from $1.76 million to $613,700. His base pay stayed the same at $950,000.
However his total compensation was $13.9 million in 2008. Take away his base pay and performance bonus and he received $11.1 in other earnings. This is by far the biggest part of his overall compensation and yet no mention of what it is or why he got it.
Also, in 2009, when his base pay stayed the same and his much ballyhooed performance bonus dropped 65%, this money now came to $11.2 million. It didn’t appear to be affected at all by the company’s poor performance.
A better first paragraph would have been: “A few bucks stopped here but a trainload of money kept coming in.”