KEY POINTS:
Ford, the ailing car maker which is laying off 38,000 of its workers, paid US$28.2 million ($39 million) last year to just one: its new chief executive, Alan Mulally.
That figure is the sum of a US$7.5 million signing-on fee, US$8.7 million worth of share options, a US$666,667 salary for four months' work, the equivalent of US$334,433 in housing costs and flights on the corporate jet, and US$11 million to compensate him for the loss of loyalty bonuses he would have received had he stayed at Boeing, where he was head of commercial aircraft.
The details were made public last week in a letter to shareholders ahead of the company's annual meeting, and come just a few weeks before unions begin negotiations on pay.
Ford is demanding concessions from workers, particularly on healthcare benefits, as it struggles to return to profit. It made a loss of US$12.7 billion last year.
Bill Ford, the great-grandson of the company's founder, Henry Ford, took no pay at all last year, having promised to forgo any new cash or share awards until the company was back on an even keel. He relinquished the chief executive role to Mulally, although he remains chairman. The company did take a charge of US$9.95 million to cover Ford's earlier options grants.
Mulally was hired because of his record at Boeing, where he slashed jobs and improved manufacturing efficiency.
Ford has promised to increase the pace of restructuring, as it fights to bring costs and output into line with that of Toyota, whose cars are stealing market share from Ford.
- INDEPENDENT
