Berkshire shareholders reject report on workforce oversight, approve say-on-pay

(This May 3 ‌story has ​been ​repeated with no changes to the text)

By Jonathan Stempel

OMAHA, Nebraska, May 2 (Reuters) - ‌Berkshire Hathaway shareholders on Saturday overwhelmingly rejected a ⁠proposal to publish a report discussing how the conglomerate ‌oversees its more than ‌387,000 employees at nearly 200 businesses.

Shareholders also approved proposals backed by Berkshire's board of directors ​that they grant non-binding approval of how Berkshire pays top executives, and every three ⁠years have an advisory vote on such compensation, known as "say ​on pay."

All 13 directors, including Chief Executive Greg Abel and Chairman Warren Buffett, were ​also reelected to Berkshire's ‌board.

The oversight proposal from shareholder Myra Young said Berkshire's decentralized structure led ⁠to "inconsistent approaches to human capital management."

She said this has manifested itself in concerns raised by NetJets pilots ⁠about the luxury plane unit's commitment to safety and effective ​training, and a 2021 fire at an Illinois plant run by the Lubrizol chemicals business that caused $380 million ‌of property damage.

Berkshire maintained that its decentralization reflected the conglomerate's culture, and ‌left workforce decisions to subsidiaries best positioned ⁠to make them. It ‌said this made ​a report discussing its oversight framework unnecessary.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel; Editing by Alistair ‌Bell)

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