Detroit Compensation Report: Mulally Made $12.8m, GM and Chrysler Cut Back

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

The Detroit Free Press reports that Ford’s Alan Mulally made $12.8m last year, nearly double the $7.53m he made in 2008. Despite a considerable increase in Mulally’s overall compensation, his cash salary actually declined to $1.4m, from about $2m in 2008. In addition to the $12.85m he made in salary, bonuses and other compensation, Mulally banked a further $5.05m in stock options. Chairman Bill Ford Jr. continues to work without compensation, although he continues to accrue stock options worth $16.8m. Those options can not be exercised until the firm’s auto operations are profitable. And while Ford’s 2009 profits justify big executive payouts, federal pay czar Ken Feinberg has cut back on executive compensation at bailed-out automakers GM and Chrysler.

Fourteen GM executives received base salaries of over $500k in 2009, reports Reuters, but that number is coming down. Feinberg tells reporters:

In General Motors, there will be some people that the company has convinced me should be receiving compensation in excess of $500,000 in base cash salary, there will be some of them…[but] this year we have cut back

Chrysler and Chrysler Financial might also have executives making as much as half a million dollars, but, says Feinberg, GMAC won’t. The troubled auto and mortgage lender has come under fire from congress in recent days, as its bailout has been subjected to withering criticism from the Congressional TARP Oversight Panel.

GM Chairman/CEO Ed Whitacre is on track to make $1.7m this year, along with $7.3m in stock-related compensation, as his pay package has already been approved by Feinberg. Also already-approved is GM Senior Advisor Steve Girsky’s $1.1m compensation package. Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne is paid by Fiat, meaning his primary compensation is not subject to Feinberg’s rulings. He made $600k in Feinberg-approved stock options last year (which cannot be cashed in for three years), but his Fiat compensation totaled $6.5m (€4.8m) according to Bloomberg.

Feinberg’s final pay rulings will be released tomorrow.

Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • Trk2 Trk2 on Mar 22, 2010

    How about $13 vs $49,900 Alan Mullaly vs GM's bailout, in millions of dollars.

    • Wsn Wsn on Mar 22, 2010

      You forgot the $13,000M given to GMAC, which is also GM's bailout.

  • GarbageMotorsCo. GarbageMotorsCo. on Mar 23, 2010

    Good thing about Mullally tho is he is getting money because he is doing a good job whereas Government Motors got money out of mixture of hysteria, sensationalism and pity. At least Mullally has a chance to build Ford up again. GM will be back sucking on the government teet until the thing is so dry it looks like a flab of skin dragging on the floor. And the doors will finally be closed for good.

  • ToolGuy This is the kind of thing you get when you give people faster internet.
  • ToolGuy North America is already the greatest country on the planet, and I have learned to be careful about what I wish for in terms of making changes. I mean, if Greenland wants to buy JDM vehicles, isn't that for the Danes to decide?
  • ToolGuy Once again my home did not catch on fire and my fire extinguisher(s) stayed in the closet, unused. I guess I threw my money away on fire extinguishers.(And by fire extinguishers I mean nuclear missiles.)
  • Carson D The UAW has succeeded in organizing a US VW plant before. There's a reason they don't teach history in the schools any longer. People wouldn't make the same mistakes.
  • B-BodyBuick84 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport of course, a 7 seater, 2.4 turbo-diesel I4 BOF SUV with Super-Select 4WD, centre and rear locking diffs standard of course.
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