My Story, Netflix cuts CEO’s stock options in half

CEO Reed Hastings

(Credit:
Netflix)

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings got the ol' lump of coal in his stocking this year.

The board of directors has slashed his stock option allowance for 2012 to $1.5 million, according to a filing Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. That's exactly half of what he received for 2011. The board left his salary as is--at $500,000.

By comparison the four other executive officers listed in the SEC filing all received a higher stock option allowance for 2012 than they got this year. Their salaries were a jumble, though, with one dropping, one remaining the same, and two increasing. Interestingly, Reed does not have the highest salary among the group of five executives. Neil Hunt, chief product officer, and Ted Sarandos, chief content officer, will each bring in $1 million in salary in 2012 and at least as much in stock option allowance as Hastings.

It's been a particularly tough year for the movie rental firm, with unpopular decisions damaging the reputation of a company that at one time seemed as if it could do no wrong.