LOS GATOS, Calif., Dec. 24 (UPI) -- A tough year for the chief executive officer of California's Netflix saw his stock options cut in half, recently filed financial documents indicate.
Reed Hastings was paid a tidy base salary of $500,000 in the past year; however, his stock-option allowance for 2012 worked out to $1.5 million, half of the $3 million he was given this year.
The Wall Street Journal said Saturday Netflix did not provide any reason for the cut. The newspaper said, however, Hastings was at the helm when the company suffered setbacks due to a major subscription price hike and the Qwikster spinoff.
The moves torpedoed the value of Netflix stock at a time when it was poised for expansion into Great Britain, a development the Journal said was expected to weigh on profits in 2012.
While Hastings' stock options were cut, the options for Chief Product Officer Neil Hunt and Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos were increased by the board to roughly the same $1.5 million level as Hastings.
