SAM Magazine-Broomfield, Colo., March 11, 2009-Vail Resorts will adopt a companywide wage reduction plan to reduce labor costs while preserving as many jobs as possible. Employee salaries will be reduced on a sliding scale, from 2.5 percent for seasonal employees to 10 percent for executives. This wage reduction plan, combined with certain other adjustments, is expected to result in expense savings of over $10 million on an annualized basis.

To partially offset the wage cuts, each full-time, year-round employee will receive a grant of stock-based incentive compensation, on a sliding scale from 1.5 percent of salary to 7.5 percent of salary for executives. This will increase the number of employees owning stock from approximately 260 to over 2,500.

Wage reductions for seasonal employees will be effective after the current winter season. The wage reduction for all other employees will be effective April 2.

Rob Katz, VR's chief executive officer (who recently added the chairman's title as well), will not take any salary for a 12-month period, and then receive a 15-percent salary reduction. He will not participate in the stock issuance. Outside members of the VR board of directors are reducing their annual cash retainer by 20 percent.

"With the uncertainty that lies ahead, reducing cost is an imperative," said Katz. "We have chosen to address this situation by making the preservation of jobs and protecting the guest experience our highest priorities. By asking everyone to take less, starting at the top, we can continue to focus on our mission of extraordinary resorts, exceptional experiences."

In his new role as board chairman, Katz replaces Joe Micheletto, who retired from on Feb. 2. Katz has been a director of Vail Resorts since June 1996, and served as lead director from June 2003 through February 2006.

Concurrently, Roland A. Hernandez has been named lead director of the board. He has been a director since December 2002. \