The operator of Japan’s stricken nuclear power plant said Monday it will halve the yearly salaries of its board members as it seeks to absorb the financial hit from the ongoing atomic crisis. Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) said it will also cancel plans to recruit 1,100 new graduates in 2012 in another cost-cutting measure as it faces the prospect of compensation payouts, repair costs and loss of profits.
The company’s chairman, president, vice presidents and managing directors will see their annual pay cut by 50 percent from April, while that of executive officers will drop by 40 percent, the statement said. From July, the salaries of managers will be reduced by about 25 percent and those of general employees by about 20 percent, it added. TEPCO said it hopes to save 54 billion yen (US $660 million) on its wage bill.
The company said in a statement it was facing “significant deficits” as it is likely to have to pay out compensation to those affected by the world’s worst nuclear emergency since Chernobyl in 1986. It also faces the cost of repairing its facilities — although the crisis-hit Fukushima Daiichi plant is expected to close — and said it would look at “fundamental downsizing” without sacrificing electricity supplies.
