Wage Inequality in Corporate Spain: The Rising Income Gap Among Cie Automotive’s Executive Directors and Staff

Cie Automotive, an industrial group that specializes in high-value processes, has been making headlines for its CEO’s extraordinary remuneration. In the 2023 financial year, Jesús María Herrera earned a staggering 23.77 million euros, making him the highest paid executive among all companies listed on the Spanish stock market. Despite his impressive salary, Cie Automotive’s average annual salary for staff is one of the lowest among listed companies.

Wage inequality remains a prevalent issue in many companies worldwide, with Cie Automotive being an extreme example. The income gap has barely corrected in recent years, as seen in data from the twelfth edition of the remuneration report prepared by EL PAÍS with data from the companies listed on the stock market. The highest paid executive directors of Ibex 35 earned an average of 4.71 million euros in 2023, over 77 times more than their employees’ average salaries.

Indra and Inditex are also notable for their wage disparities, followed by Banco Santander and Sacyr. The trend of increasing executive salaries, particularly among senior management, has been observed in the market. While there has been a rise in female directors in large listed companies, many still hold independent or proprietary roles rather than executive positions.

Compensation schemes and director remuneration continue to be a topic of discussion among businesses worldwide. Many companies still heavily rely on cash payments in their salary plans and offer pension contributions for executive directors as well as significant retirement funds allocated for golden parachutes for executives with armored contracts.

Repsol leads the way with 217 beneficiaries protected by its corporate governance report while BBVA follows closely behind them with other notable companies such as Grifols and Dia also included on this list despite efforts to limit excessive compensation and shielding practices remain a concern among stakeholders.