Companies may be cutting back on employee perks, but top executives have been a notable exception.
Driving the news: Corporate spending on private jets was up for a second straight year in 2022, hitting US$41.3 million across S&P500 companies, the highest level in at least 10 years.
Why it matters: Many of the companies spending big on flying around executives happen to be the same ones that are cutting back on perks offered to rank-and-file employees to save dough.
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Meta has eliminated perks and cut employee health and wellness benefits, but spent $2.3 million on private flights for CEO (and jiu-jitsu champion) Mark Zuckerberg.
- Netflix has shut down offices and limited corporate swag to save costs while spending over $1 million on jets for execs (remember that open flight attendant role).
Yes, but: $2 million spent on jets for Zuck is just a slice of his $27 million compensation. As they say, time is money, and big companies often value their top execs’ time highly enough that it’s worth it to have a PJ or two lying around.
Zoom out: At the very least, the rise of jet-setting CEOs is tough for optics when the same businesses are laying off thousands of their employees and pledging to slash emissions.—QH