Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings’ top two executives voluntarily agreed to approximately 20% base salary cuts, according to a securities filing Friday.
The temporary reductions for CEO Dave Jackson and CFO Adam Miller will last for most of H2 and won’t affect other aspects of their compensation package, such as stock and bonuses.
At the end of 2022, Jackson’s base salary was $925,000, with an overall compensation of $6.37 million, according to a securities filing. Miller’s base salary was listed as $825,000.
The new filing didn’t list the executives’ current base or overall salaries. Jackson is also president of Knight-Swift and a director on its board, and Miller serves as president of Swift Transportation and treasurer of Knight-Swift, according to the company’s website.
The move is a cost-cutting measure by Knight-Swift as the carrier struggles amid the market downturn. The move aims to “reduce costs in the third and fourth quarters of 2023,” the filing said. Operating income fell from nearly $145 million in Q1 to $94 million in Q2.
The cost-cutting isn’t a new technique for Knight-Swift, which announced a nearly identical move in the early days of the pandemic. In April 2020, the carrier said it would reduce base salaries by approximately 20% for nearly three months for Jackson, Miller, board of directors’ Chairman Kevin Knight and Vice Chairman Gary Knight due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The new salary reductions will start Sept. 3 and are expected to continue through Dec. 30, the filing said.
