US Edition Unions have reacted angrily to yesterday's announcement by QinetiQ chief executive Graham Love that the basic pay of all 7,300 UK employees would be frozen.
A spokesman for the trade union Prospect said: "It is worth noting that Graham Love received a bonus last year of £214,480 on top of his salary of £341,817. He has confirmed to staff that senior management bonuses will continue to be paid this year despite the pay freeze for all other employees."
Nick Radiven, of the Public and Commercial Services Union, said: "This comes as a slap in the face for staff who are being rewarded for their hard work with a pay freeze whilst the company posts record profits. We will be arranging urgent members' meetings to gauge opinions and discuss options for action."
Prospect yesterday sent a note to its members declaring: "No doubt we find ourselves in difficult times. But there's no reason to treat staff in this way. Prospect will oppose short-sighted and unfair business practices.
"Our aim is to see that the professionalism and skills of QinetiQ staff is properly recognised and rewarded in the best possible way."
Executive pay is a particularly controversial subject at QinetiQ, which was spun out of the Ministry of Defence Laboratories in 2003, because of the huge windfalls directors received when
the company was floated in 2006.
Mark Serwotka, PCS general secretary, said: "The announcement will do nothing for the morale of staff who have seen executives make millions out of the controversial privatisation of QinetiQ and enjoy returns of up to 20,000pc at the taxpayer's expense."
According to stock market legend, the company's odd name was a reference to the inventor of James Bond's gadgets – codenamed Q – in the 007 films.