AMD Ties CEO Bonus to Performance

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. said it signed an employment contract with Chief Executive W.J. Sanders III that more directly ties his bonus to the performance of the company and its stock. Under the five-year contract, Sanders will be paid $1 million a year and receive 0.6% of the Sunnyvale-based computer chip maker’s pretax profit, to a maximum of $5 million. Sanders also gets 2.5 million options on AMD stock, half of which are tied to the performance of the shares. Sanders receives that half much sooner if he keeps the value of AMD’s shares at certain target levels for certain periods. The contract also requires Sanders to boost AMD’s operating profit by 20% a year in order to receive the same size bonus year to year, or to do better. Sanders has been CEO since the company was started in May 1969. AMD shares gained 12.5 cents to close at $19 on the New York Stock Exchange.