The coronavirus is shining a spotlight on the issue of executive pay. Many corporate leaders who are used to taking home multimilliondollar packages each year are personally adopting a new kind of austerity as they are forced to send tens of thousands to the unemployment line. The real-world impact of the changes are complicated: CEOs are definitely going to take a hard hit, but they don't face the same kind of existential dread felt by many workers who live with much less financial cushion. The coronavirus is a threat to everyone. However, the economic pain is only partially being shared. Some of the lowest-paid workers are now on the front lines — at times providing essential services without the essential protections — while the wealthy selfquarantine in vacation homes and uppermiddle-class white-collar workers log in from home. U.S. retail chief executive officers started delivering the bad news to workforces last week, furloughing store associates en masse as the COVID-19 shutdown forced them to keep their stores closed not just for a few weeks, but for the foreseeable future. And in the process, some made it clear that CEOs will not receive compensation for the duration of the crisis.

full wwd article: The COVID-19 CEO Pay Cuts