Xerox Paid No Executive Bonuses in 1999

Xerox Corp. did not pay its top executives any bonuses last year because of the company’s disappointing financial performance, Xerox disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Chairman Paul Allaire, 61, earned an annual salary of $975,000 in both 1998 and 1999, the company said. President and Chief Executive Rick Thoman, 55, had his salary increased to $900,000 in 1999 from $700,000 in 1998. Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer Barry Romeril, 55, was paid a 1999 salary of $575,000, versus $513,333 in 1998. Stamford, Conn.-based Xerox has been plagued by strategic missteps and intensifying competition as it tries to transform itself from a maker of free-standing copiers into a company that sells digital printers connected to computer networks. The company said last week that it was cutting 5.5% of its work force. Its stock has fallen from $64 in May to a low of $20 in early March. Xerox shares closed up 38 cents at $27.75 on the New York Stock Exchange.