Compensation Management News
State:
Category
Topic *Please pick a topic
April 22, 2002
No 2001 Bonuses for Top GM Execs
GenFor a Limited Time receive a
FREE Compensation Market Analysis Report! Find out how much you should be paying to attract and retain the best applicants and employees, with
customized information for your industry, location, and job.
Get Your Report Now!
The Reuters news agency reports that GM Chief Executive Officer and President Rick Wagoner was paid about $2.6 million in salary, long-term incentives and other compensation. That represents a decrease of about 35 percent in the salary, bonuses, incentives and other compensation for 2000, when GM's earnings hit their second-highest levels ever, before one-time items.
Wagoner did receive 400,000 options on GM common shares worth an estimated $4.9 million, up from the 250,000 stock options he received in 2000. He took the helm as CEO, in addition to his duties as president, on June 1, 2000.
Wagoner's base salary climbed to $2 million in 2001 from $1.55 million in 2000, due to his CEO title, but his bonus dropped to zero last year from $784,000 in 2000.
Meanwhile, according to Reuters, Ford disclosed that former Chief Executive Jacques Nasser, ousted last October, received $17.8 million in compensation for 2001, a year the company reported a staggering $5.45 billion loss.
Wagoner and GM Chairman Jack Smith admitted in a letter to shareholders in the company's annual report, released on Thursday, that they were not satisfied with GM's results last year, even though they were the only one of the traditional Big Three U.S. automakers to make a profit.
"It would be wrong to say we're satisfied. We are not. Overall, we were disappointed with our 2001 results," they said.
Smith, who gave up the CEO title to Wagoner, earned $2.5 million in salary, long-term incentives and other compensation last year, down from $6.5 million in 2000.
His base salary fell to $1.45 million from $2.05 million, and his annual bonus dropped to zero from $1.17 million in 2000. Also, his long-term incentive payout plunged to $835,000 from $3.12 million in 2000.
Smith received options on 400,000 GM common shares last year, worth an estimated $4.9 million, unchanged from 400,000 options for 2000.
In March, GM acknowledged that it was unlikely to meet its target of a 5 percent net profit margin, and therefore had revised a bonus plan for 3,500 of its top executives to refocus on cutting costs and improving cash flow.
To read the Reuters article, click here.