Chipotle Executive Compensation Takes A Hit Following Food Safety Scares

Following a disastrous fourth quarter in 2015, Chipotle executives were unsurprisingly not paid cash bonuses for their performance "due to the challenges and performance for 2015," as the chain chugs along the road to recovery.

In 2014, Chipotle chairman and co-CEO Steve Ells earned a performance-based cash bonus of more than $3.6 million and co-CEO Monty Moran earned more than $3 million.

The Chicago Tribune further details that for 2016, stock awards, which are typically the largest portion of executive compensation, will be directly tied to stock performance goals over a three-year period.

In its annual proxy filed last Friday, the company's compensation committee said, "We believe [the new structure] aligns executive officer compensation with restoring shareholder value, and motivates the management team to further enhance value to our owners."

The company will design new stock awards if its share price rises back to $700 for 30 consecutive days, a 38 percent jump from its current stock price of $507, according to Business Finance News.

For its fourth quarter earnings, Chipotle reported an overall revenue drop of 6.8 percent and a 14.6 percent drop in sales at established outlets, the company's first decline since it went public.