Sacked Mothercare CEO rehired on lower salary

LONDON (Reuters) - The boss of Mothercare, the struggling British mother and baby products retailer, who was sacked 44 days ago returned to work on Friday but with a 132,000 pounds pay cut.

Mothercare said Mark Newton-Jones had re-joined the board as chief executive on an annual salary of 480,000 pounds. First time round he was on 612,000 pounds.

"In recognition of Mothercare’s financial position and the support for the restructuring and refinancing given by multiple stakeholders, Mark has taken a significant pay cut," the firm said.

On Thursday Mothercare had called its financial condition "perilous".

Newton-Jones was ousted as CEO on April 4 by then chairman Alan Parker after serving in the post for nearly four years. Parker himself abruptly retired on April 19 and was succeeded by interim executive chairman Clive Whiley.

Whiley then brought Newton-Jones back, shifting David Wood from the CEO role to the group managing director post. The terms of Wood's employment contract are unchanged.

On Thursday Mothercare said Newton-Jones would return and detailed a major restructuring that would involve closing 50 stores and a 113.5 million pound refinancing. It also reported a 73 million pounds annual loss.

(Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Adrian Croft)