EasyJet said to consider easing pay targets to hang on to McCall

EasyJet directors are in early-stage talks about relaxing executive bonus targets in order to hang on to CEO Carolyn McCall and other top managers as a capacity glut and the Brexit vote put the UK carrier’s earnings under pressure, people familiar with the plans said. The EasyJet board wants to make pay goals more achievable amid concerns that McCall and her team may be lured to other companies as aviation bears the brunt of economic and political uncertainty, according to the people, who asked not to be named as the proposals haven’t been made public. Discussions are preliminary and the remuneration committee hasn’t yet been approached, the people said. Any easing of performance targets would risk a backlash from EasyJet founder and shareholder Stelios Haji-Ioannou, who has opposed fleet growth and earlier moves to bolster pay. A external spokesman for EasyJet declined to comment. McCall, who was earlier this year linked with a move to retail giant Marks & Spencer Group, received GBP6.2m in the year through September 2015, including 5.4m pounds from a bonus and long-term incentive plan. The reward was based on a 236% investor return for the three previous years and a higher than expected capital return. While the CEO’s base salary for the year just ended has already been determined, her bonus -- set to be revealed in EasyJet’s annual report due next month -- is likely to shrink following the first fall in full-year profit since 2009 and a 43% share-price decline since Jan. 1.<br/>