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FinanceGlobal 500

BHP CEO’s Salary Was Cut in Half After the Samarco Disaster

By
Reuters
Reuters
and
Michelle Toh
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September 21, 2016, 3:15 AM ET
BHP Billiton Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Andrew Mackenzie Attends Investor Briefing For Interim Results
Andrew McKenzie, chief executive officer of BHP Billiton Ltd., speaks during an investor briefing at the company's headquarters in Melbourne, Australia, on Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2016. BHP made a larger-than-expected cut to its dividend, lowering the payout for the first time in 15 years, as the world's biggest mining company seeks to protect its balance sheet and credit ratings amid a price collapse that saw first-half profits tumble 92 percent. Photographer: Carla Gottgens/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesCarla Gottgens— Bloomberg via Getty Images

BHP Billiton (BHP) Chief Executive Andrew Mackenzie’s annual salary was cut in half following the Samarco dam disaster in Brazil that claimed 19 lives and caused widespread environmental damage, the global miner said.

Mackenzie was paid $2.24 million in the 2016 fiscal year, down from $4.58 million the previous year. While his base salary was maintained at $1.7 million, he did not receive any short- or long-term incentive payments, according to BHP‘s annual report.

“The dam failure at Samarco was a key consideration, along with the ongoing decline in commodity markets and its associated impact on our performance,” BHP said in the report.

See also: Probe Finds Samarco Disaster Was Caused By Poor Drainage and Design

For more on executive pay, watch Fortune’s video:

Almost a year after the spill at the Samarco mine, owned jointly by BHP and Brazilian miner Vale, there is still no date for restarting operations, complicating attempts to restructure Samarco’s debt and increasing the possibility the miner may be allowed to run out of money.

For the year to the end of June, BHP reported a record $6.4 billion net loss.

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