“Tiredness” to be told that his salary was increased by 52% last year, the CEO of TotalEnergies Patrick Pouyanné took social networks to witness on Tuesday, October 18 to explain that his remuneration was “constant since 2017” and “lower” than that of “other majors” European and American.
I’m tired of this accusation of “increasing myself by 52%” – here is the real evolution of my remuneration since 2017 – it is constant except for 2020 because I voluntarily cut my salary and my variable part has normally fallen with the results of #totalenergies l https://t.co/QdqtVuwuew pic.twitter.com/BYIgxaX4VD
— Patrick Pouyanné (@PPouyanne) October 18, 2022
“I’m tired of this ‘raising me 52%’ accusation – here’s the real evolution of my pay since 2017” wrote Patrick Pouyanné on Twitter on Tuesday, posting a table showing the evolution of his remuneration since 2017, while his group is in the midst of a wage dispute with more than 20 days of CGT strike in certain refineries of the group.
According to this document, taken from the figures published each year in the group’s annual report, the leader was indeed increased by 51.7% in 2021, to 5,944,129 euros. But this increase follows a 36.4% drop in his compensation in 2020, reflecting a salary cut he took. “voluntarily” applied during the health crisis and the decline in the variable part of his salary that year linked to the group’s results. In 2020, his compensation had decreased to 3.91 million euros.
In 2019, the year before the pandemic, it amounted to 6.15 million euros, more than that of 2021. In 2018, 5.8 million euros, and in 2017, 6 million euros. “It is not me who sets my compensation, but the Board of Directors of TotalEnergies which sets it and the shareholders who approve it – it is certainly high, but comparable to my peers in the CAC40 and much lower than that of the other european majors[ne]s and american[e]s”also explains the boss of Total in a second tweet.
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While the negotiations between the CGT and the management failed last week on the amount of the salary increase to be paid to the employees, the controversy swelled on the remuneration of the CEO of Total, and the increase which was granted to him for the year 2021. “Perhaps if the CEO of Total had not increased his salary by 52% in 2021, we would not be in this situation of deadlock”, regretted on Public Senate October 11 Gérard Leseul, socialist deputy for the 5th constituency of Seine-Maritime.