SiliconBeat

The compensation committee for Bookham, the San Jose optical component firm that decided in January to pay performance-based bonuses to five of its top executives despite the fact that they didn’t achieve their goals, has now decided to reduce the pay of all of its executives by “approximately ten percent,” according to a filing today with the SEC.

The pay cuts will start April 1, and shall “remain in effect until such time as the Committee takes action to increase the base salaries of the Executives to the level in effect immediately prior to April 1, 2009 or greater.” Nice or, huh?

However, should the company need to make payments to the executives “pursuant to the Executive Retention and Severance Agreements by and between the Corporation and each such Executive,” the company will use the base salary amount in effect prior to April 1. Natch.