Intel shareholders reject compensation packages for top executives

(Reuters) – Intel Corp shareholders rejected compensation packages for top executives, including a payout of as much as $178.6 million to Chief Executive Officer Pat Gelsinger, a regulatory filing showed on Monday.

About 1.78 billion votes were cast against executive compensation at the annual meeting, Intel said, though the vote is non-binding. About 921.2 million votes were cast in favor.

“We take our investors’ feedback very seriously, and we are committed to engaging with them and addressing their concerns,” Intel said in a statement.

The company said it had taken specific steps to address investor questions, including linking pay to performance but added “there is clearly more work to do”.

Gelsinger earned more than 1,700 times the typical employee at the chip giant in 2021, according to a regulatory filing in March.

Intel forecast its second-quarter revenue and profit below Wall Street expectations in April, citing weak demand in its largest market, PCs, and increased supply-chain uncertainty due to fresh COVID-19 lockdowns in China.

(Reporting by Ananya Mariam Rajesh in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)