Electronic Arts (EA) has always been in the spotlight and not always for the most flattering of reasons. There has been controversy, there have been massive missteps, and there has been a lot of change throughout the years. EA’s CEO Andrew Wilson is no stranger to that same spotlight, even being named one of the top 100 most overpaid CEOs in 2019. It’s because of that when new information came to light about this year’s bonuses, a surprising move by the company’s executives was too good not to share.
Despite 2019 not being the best for the publisher in terms of sales, the company still made bank across all properties. Still, Wilson and other execs decided to do away with their bonuses this year, instead opting into pooling that money (amounting to 4.8 million dollars) into a separate fund to be paid out across all employees instead. Those execs included are CEO Andrew Wilson, CFO Blake Jorgensen, CTO Kenneth Moss, CMO Chis Burzzo, CSO Laura Miel, and even DICE CEO Patrick Soderlund despite his departure back in August 2018.
According to reports, Soderlund was offered as $20 million stock grant to stay with the company, a deal he declined, which mean that money went towards a new hire pool instead. Though some may find any sort of negatives regarding the latest financial gesture, it is a relief to see the company make a move like this. Yes, they could easily afford it, but so can a lot of companies that opt not to forgo bonuses. With EA promising change to both fans and investors, this particular olive branch bodes well for the future of their acquisitions, the parent company itself, and future plans as well.
