Gannett CEO cuts 1,000 jobs while raking in $7.5 million

The big news in the publishing industry in November was Gannett CEO Craig Dubow's 'selfless" decision to take a voluntary 17 percent pay cut out of his base salary.

This, of course, was made public before a series of widely-publicized firings at Gannett newspapers, including 1,000 jobs this week, 19 of them at the Springfield News-Leader. And what the stories failed to mention was that Dubow's base salary is just a drop in the bucket. Dubow makes more in bonuses than he does in salary, and including his numerous other forms of compensation raked in $7,546,710 in 2007.

A proxy statement filed March 13 with the Securities and Exchange Commission shows Dubow's 2007 compensation included a $1,750,000 bonus, $1,067,980 in stock awards, $3,351,000 in option awards, $57,101 in nonqualified deferred compensation earnings, and $120,629 in "all other compensation."

While the 19 employees fired on Dubow's order at the Springfield News-Leader wonder where their next paycheck will come from, Dubow, as part of his employment agreement receives the following:

-Paid life insurance
-Supplemental medical benefits
-A security system allowance
-Company provided lunch during working hours
-Unspecified legal and financial services
-Tickets to sporting events
-Use of company automobile
-Use of company aircraft

To be fair, Gannett is cutting Dubow's benefits to the bone. The proxy statement indicates Gannett will no longer pay activity and membership fees for its CEO.

And if the Gannett Board decides someday to treat Dubow in the same cavalier manner in which he treated the 1,000 employees who were fired this week and the hundreds more who were fired in recent months, this would be Dubow's reward:

Also, upon termination of employment prior to his 58th birthday, other than by the Company for “cause,” by Mr. Dubow without “good reason,” as a result of death or by reason of Mr. Dubow failing to renew his term of employment, Mr. Dubow’s SERP benefit would reflect service credit as if he had remained employed through his 58th birthday and compensation during the additional service period shall be assumed equal to his annual base salary at the time of termination plus the greater of (1) his most recent incentive bonus or (2) the average of his three most recent incentive bonuses.

If Dubow were to be fired today, based on his most recent annual compensation, since he just turned 54 in October, his severance package would be somewhere in the neighborhood of $12 million.