Although the Container Store is facing some very real retail challenges, some employees can still expect a raise this year, thanks to the company's CEO.
Satish Malhotra has voluntarily reduced his salary by 10 percent to help offset pay hikes for others at the company. Malhortra's salary for a six-month period would drop to $832,500, the company said in a filing with the SEC.
Last year, Malhotra's total compensation came in at $2.57 million.
It was not made clear what the average increase would be for employees.
The Container Store reported a adjusted net loss of $10.1 million in its most recent quarter, more than $20 million worse than the same period a year ago. In May, the company announced layoffs that affected about 15% of its support center workers and 3% of the employees at its distribution centers and stores. The number of people affected by the cuts was not disclosed.
In part of the case, Malhotra signed a letter from the company's chief legal officer denying that he did not consider the salary reduction as a breach of his contract and waiving his right to leave for 'good reason' due to the temporary pay cut. If he had chosen to do so, he would have been eligible for severance benefits that included twice his base salary.
The letter said there was no plan to begin a search for a new CEO, indicating that the company was not seeking a new leader.