AOL Halves Bonuses of Some Executives

America Online Inc. cut bonuses in half for some senior executives and didn’t give Chairman Steve Case any extra pay because the No. 1 online service didn’t meet its earnings objectives for the year, according to a federal filing.

The Dulles, Va.-based company said in a proxy filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it cut the bonus awards by 50% because it missed performance goals for fiscal 1997 amid restructuring charges and a change in how it accounts for marketing expenses.

AOL implemented the cash-bonus program at the beginning of the year, moving away from compensating employees only through stock and salaries, which had typically been lower than other industry executives’. The bonuses, though, depended on the company meeting earnings and performance targets for the fiscal year ended June 1997.

“We did meet our targets under two different business models, but when we went back to review it, we hadn’t met all of our strategic objectives,” said Tricia Primrose, an AOL spokeswoman.

A major concern in deciding the bonuses was the customer complaints after the company in December implemented an unlimited-usage monthly fee that led to network problems, Primrose said.

The filing didn’t specify the financial target AOL expected. Primrose would not comment further.