Southwest CEO’s compensation soars despite December debacle

Southwest Airlines CEO Robert Jordan’s compensation nearly doubled last year to $5.3m after being promoted to the top job during a year that ended with massive flight cancellations that will cost Southwest more than $1b. Southwest disclosed in a proxy filed Thursday that the estimated value of Jordan’s compensation rose from $3m in 2021, when he was executive vice president. In 2022, Jordan received stock awards valued at $3.6m, $676,875 in salary, a $195,720 cash bonus and $782,880 in incentive compensation, plus retirement-plan benefits. The eventual value of the stock awards will depend on the company’s financial performance from 2022 through 2024. A Southwest spokesman said Jordan’s cash bonus would have been larger without the December disruptions because of lower scores for financial performance and customer-satisfaction, but the cancellations did not affect his other compensation.<br/>