Widdows taking pay cut

Widdows taking pay cut
Widdows
   NOL executives are taking pay cuts to their base salaries as a measure of how rough 2009 is expected to be, according to a report Wednesday in Tradewinds.
   NOL chief executive Ron Widdows will take a 20 percent cut on his roughly $500,000 base salary, the report said, quoting figures from NOL's annual report. The salary cuts will also apply to the company's other directors.
   Widdows is a key figure in the container shipping industry, heading the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement as well as serving as chairman of the World Shipping Council. The Tradewinds report said that his base salary accounts for roughly one-third of his total earnings, with the rest coming from bonuses, stocks and benefits.
   The report also said NOL Chairman Cheng Wai Keung had already agreed to a 40 percent cut on his $165,000 base salary.
   NOL is the Singapore-based parent of shipping line APL.