Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch take pay cuts at Fox Corp

Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch are among senior executives at Fox Corp to have pay suspended or reduced due to the impact of COVID-19.

Rupert Murdoch, left, and his son Lachlan Murdoch have taken pay cuts as Fox Corp deals with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Picture: Bloomberg

Fox Corp said its top executives would forgo salaries and other senior leadership would have their pay reduced by as much as 50 per cent in the coming months due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the US company’s various media businesses.

In a memo to staff, executive chairman and chief executive Lachlan Murdoch said he and his father, chairman Rupert Murdoch, as well as other senior executives, would see their pay eliminated through September.

“While we don’t know exactly when we will return to normal and full operations across the company, we have decided to take several new actions to ensure that we remain strong and are well-positioned when this crisis recedes,” Lachlan Murdoch said in the memo.

He added the reductions are necessary so that “to the greatest extent possible, we are able to protect our full-time colleagues with salary and benefit continuation during the period we are most affected by the crisis.”

Fox Corp -- whose holdings include Fox News, the Fox Broadcast Network, Fox Sports and more than two dozen local television stations reaching about 40 per cent of the country -- is the latest media company to suspend pay of its leadership and reduce salaries for senior executives.

In total, 700 Fox Corp employees will be affected. The company also said it is suspending pay increases throughout the company, including for its board of directors.

On-air talent at the various Fox operations aren’t part of the mandatory cuts, people familiar with the matter said.

Besides the Murdochs, other senior executives who have had their salaries temporarily eliminated include chief operating officer John Nallen and chief legal Officer Viet Dinh.

Division heads who will have their pay reduced by half through September 30 include Fox News chief executive Suzanne Scott, Fox Entertainment chief executive Charlie Collier and Fox Sports chief executive Eric Shanks.

Fox executives at the vice president and above level will have their pay reduced by 15 per cent from May 1 through July 31.

Fox Corp and News Corp, owner of The Australian and Wall Street Journal, share common ownership.

Wall Street Journal