Proxy Report - 11/04/2018
Airbus Group knew a corruption scandal these last months, because of undeclared commissions totalling € 18.2 B in order to sign commercial contracts with several states. CEO Thomas Enders denounced the irregularities of the company to the British Serious Fraud Office. He will not stand for election at the end of his term. Fabrice Brégier, COO, resigned in February 2018 (www.spiegel.de/international/business/airbus-corruptionscandal-
threatens-ceo-tom-enders-a-1171533.html). Proxinvest evaluated Enders’ total pay at €5,230,864, which represents 128% of the median total CEO remuneration in the CAC40 and 165% of the median total CEO remuneration in the Industrial Goods and Services sector of the Stoxx Europe 600). This represents 262 times of the SMIC (French minimum wage). Such amount (5% increasing compared to last year) is not acceptable in the context of corruption scandal. Finally, it has come at quite an inopportune time since Thomas Enders announced recently that 3,700 employees will be laid off due to expected declines in production.
The statutory auditor of the Company, Ernst & Young is up for re-election as is customary in the Netherlands; however we are concerned by the excessive nature of non-audit related fees with respect to statutory audit fees which may jeopardize the independence of the auditor (Resolution 5).
The 2017 executive compensation and 2018 compensation policy are not put to shareholder’s vote due to the fact that it is not compulsory in the Netherlands. This is not acceptable for a CAC40 company, especially in the context of the layoffs and corruption scandal.
Airbus Group knew a corruption scandal these last months, because of undeclared commissions totalling € 18.2 B in order to sign commercial contracts with several states. CEO Thomas Enders denounced the irregularities of the company to the British Serious Fraud Office. He will not stand for election at the end of his term. Fabrice Brégier, COO, resigned in February 2018 (www.spiegel.de/international/business/airbus-corruptionscandal- threatens-ceo-tom-enders-a-1171533.html).
Proxinvest evaluated Enders’ total pay at €5,230,864, which represents 128% of the median total CEO remuneration in the CAC40 and 165% of the median total CEO remuneration in the Industrial Goods and Services sector of the Stoxx Europe 600). This represents 262 times of the SMIC (French minimum wage). Such amount (5% increasing compared to last year) is not acceptable in the context of corruption scandal. Finally, it has come at quite an inopportune time since Thomas Enders announced recently that 3,700 employees will be laid off due to expected declines in production.
The statutory auditor of the Company, Ernst & Young is up for re-election as is customary in the Netherlands; however we are concerned by the excessive nature of non-audit related fees with respect to statutory audit fees which may jeopardize the independence of the auditor (Resolution 5).
The 2017 executive compensation and 2018 compensation policy are not put to shareholder’s vote due to the fact that it is not compulsory in the Netherlands. This is not acceptable for a CAC40 company, especially in the context of the layoffs and corruption scandal.
Airbus is an European Aeronautic Defense and Space company whose core business is the manufacturing of commercial aircraft, civil and military helicopters, commercial space launch vehicles, missiles, military aircraft, satellites and defense systems and defense electronics and the rendering of services related to these activities. Co. organizes its businesses into the following five operating divisions: Airbus Commercial, Airbus Military, Eurocopter, Cassidian and Astrium. In addition, Co.'s Other Businesses division engages in the development, manufacturing, marketing and sale of regional turboprop aircraft and aircraft components.
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