{"id":1139,"date":"2025-06-22T22:16:17","date_gmt":"2025-06-22T22:16:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tcap.blog\/?p=1139"},"modified":"2025-06-22T22:16:19","modified_gmt":"2025-06-22T22:16:19","slug":"icymi-cummins-confidential-linebargers-pay-cut-gaslight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tcap.blog\/2025\/06\/22\/icymi-cummins-confidential-linebargers-pay-cut-gaslight\/","title":{"rendered":"ICYMI – Cummins Confidential : Linebarger\u2019s Pay-Cut Gaslight"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

First published June 10, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In April 2020, Cummins announced a \u201c50% cut\u201d in CEO Norman Tom Linebarger\u2019s base salary as COVID struck. It made a splashy headline: leadership sharing sacrifice. Meanwhile, many employees continued on\u2011site work through lockdowns, risking their health and that of their families. Peel back the PR veneer and the gaslight appears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Base salary fell from about $1.575\u202fmillion to roughly $0.787\u202fmillion for the period (reuters.com<\/a>). Industry analysis places Linebarger\u2019s total 2020 pay at around $17.3\u202fmillion (asyousow.org<\/a>). Cutting $0.787\u202fmillion from base pay represents only about 4.5% of his total remuneration. Long\u2011term equity awards and performance incentives continued vesting on pre\u2011set schedules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do the maths: employees worked through lockdowns under challenging conditions, yet the CEO\u2019s pay\u2011cut stunt barely nudged a vast package. If Cummins truly meant shared sacrifice, equity vesting would pause or bonuses shrink. Instead, the remuneration machinery carried on largely unchanged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Compare the narrative to filings. The public hears \u201cCEO took 50% cut\u201d; few probe proxy statements showing total pay remained enormous. Internal morale sours when workers recognise that real sacrifice sits only in announcements. For those who check the figures, the stunt looks like hollow theatre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is corporate gaslighting: present a benevolent gesture while hiding the bulk of pay\u2011outs behind the curtain. The board secures a feel\u2011good narrative, employees glimpse the disconnect, and stakeholders who examine proxies see the disparity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does this reveal about Cummins\u2019 priorities? Stagecraft outweighs substance. A half\u2011salary announcement signals solidarity yet reward mechanisms stay intact. It exposes a fortress culture where gestures matter more than genuine alignment and where executives emerge largely unscathed while others faced real risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Readers and stakeholders deserve the full picture. Next time Cummins touts a \u201cleadership sacrifice\u201d, demand transparency: how were equity awards adjusted? Did performance units slow vesting? Were bonus formulas truly reworked? Inspect total compensation, not just the base\u2011salary headline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cummins can stage a half\u2011salary announcement to applause. But applause rings hollow when deeper machinery remains unchanged. True accountability means calling out the gaslight, exposing the gap between headline cuts and sustained multi\u2011million\u2011dollar payouts. Only then can solidarity move beyond theatre into genuine equity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lee Thompson \u2013 Founder, The Cummins Accountability Project<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Citations:<\/p>\n\n\n\n