Google’s trio of top leaders — co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, plus CEO Eric Schmidt — continued to receive $1 salaries in 2009, but it was a series of other cutbacks that helped the company earn $6.5 billion in profit last year.

The AP reports that some of those cutbacks directly impacted Schmidt’s overall compensation:

Schmidt’s 2009 package totaled $245,322, down from $508,764 in 2008, according to documents filed Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The sharp decrease reflected lower bills for protecting Schmidt and flying his personal guests on jets chartered by Google.

Google’s cutbacks last year also included layoffs and, as the AP reports, closing some of its employee cafeterias.

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | Google: Business Issues | Google: Employees

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