After Kaman CEO takes pay cut, directors, execs follow suit

Photo | Contributed Aerospace products, such as Kaman Corp.’s K-MAX heavy-lift helicopters, have traditionally been among the state's top exports, but the COVID-19 pandemic greatly disrupted the sector.

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By Matt Pilon

Bloomfield aerospace manufacturer Kaman said non-employee members of its board of directors have unanimously agreed to reduce their cash compensation by 20%.

The arrangement, approved on Wednesday, will be in effect for the second quarter, and then reconsidered quarterly thereafter, the company said. The move is meant to further prepare for the economic impacts of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to an approximately 42% drop in Kaman’s share value so far this year.

In addition, Kaman's executive officers are taking a 15% base salary reduction, effective April 16, and other corporate officers will take a 10% hit, the company disclosed earlier this week in U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission filing. Those reductions continue through the end of the third quarter and may be extended.

CEO Neal Keating announced last month that he would take a voluntary 20% salary cut, worth $200,000.

Kaman’s nine non-employee board members in 2019 earned approximately $904,000 in total, including annual retainers, committee chair fees and lead director fees, which means that the second-quarter pay cut will amount to approximately $181,000.

Those directors also received just over $1 million in stock awards last year, which are unaffected by the temporary pay cut.

It wasn't immediately clear how much the executive officer salary cuts would save.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to include additional information about pay cuts at Kaman.