Billy Ford Breaks Promise, Goes Back on the Payroll. Or Not.
This one's a bit screwy. According to Reuters, Ford's compensation committee wants to pay Billy Ford– even though the former CEO and current Board Chairman pledged not to draw a penny in salary until FoMoCo had returned to profitability (currently scheduled for 2009). In a note filed with the SEC, Ford (the company) said it's decided to change the terms of of Bill Ford's 2005 compensation arrangement "in light of the company's progress in restructuring its troubled North American operations." The committee insisted that it was "not reasonable" to expect Bill Ford to continue to work for free "particularly after he has received no compensation for three years." Ford spokesman Oscar Suris said Bill Ford had turned his back on compensation worth roughly $25m to $33m. OK, now, The Detroit Free Press reports that Billy has reaffirmed his promise not to bank the bucks until Ford's in the black. TTAC is investigating.
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I don't know why people are so eager to beat up on this guy. While he hasn't turned Ford around, bringing in Mulally indicates at least honesty and some humility. I think he has been in a very difficult position all his working life within Ford. Everyone around him walked softly and was no doubt careful with their words, so it would be very unlikely he'd get an accurate picture of the situation at any point. He might not be superman, but he's a hell of a lot better than the crew at GM IMO. His father deserves far more criticism it seems to me.
I believe that John's comment above is correct. They're talking about one-time accounting items, not one-time payments. This is a common measure used by companies to more accurately portray their current operational status rather than GAAP numbers, which could be higher or lower depending on things like reserves, tax benefits, etc.
We all can't live on free forever especially when our parents money runs out.