Terex Corp. chairman Ron DeFeo recently declined to accept a $1.17 million bonus he was eligible for and reduced his salary by 10 percent as the company has had to trim its workforce and reduce costs in the face of the global economic downturn.

“Mr. DeFeo believed that he should lead by example and share some of the economic burden and voluntarily declined receipt of his bonus,” Terex said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Terex, based in Westport, Conn., has already announced extensive job cuts and recently said the company could be forced to lay off more people this year.