Big Three CEOs To Take $1 A Year Salaries If Their Companies Get Bailed Out (POLL)

Now that Americans have footed the bill for more than a trillion dollars in bailouts, Congress is finally starting to clamp down on executive pay as a condition for a bailout.

AP reports, "Some members of Congress have urged the Big Three executives to take major pay cuts as part of the deal. Chrysler Chief Executive Robert Nardelli said he would work for $1 a year, and a similar commitment is expected from GM CEO Rick Wagoner. Ford plans to include a pay cut for Ford CEO Alan Mulally, although the size of the cut was not immediately available."

Just this morning, Ford's CEO said he would take $1 a year in pay if Ford got bailed out. Chrysler and GM's CEOs joined the salary-reduction pledge as well.

Ford Motor Co. will tell Congress that it plans to return to a pretax profit or break even in 2011 when its CEO appears before two legislative committees this week.

Also, CEO Alan Mulally said he'll work for $1 per year if the automaker has to take any government loan money.

The plan Ford is presenting to Congress this week also says it will cancel all management employees' 2009 bonuses and will not pay any merit increases for its North American salaried employees next year.

Other cost-cutting actions include a plan to sell Ford's five corporate aircraft, the company said.

Take our poll and tell us if you think this a good policy for all bailed out companies:

Quick Poll

Should CEOs Who Are Getting Bailed Out Forfeit A Salary?

YES

NO

Comments

[buugaar]

Did the bankers who took (and continue to take) the TARP bailout (and any subsequent bailout for that matter) forced to reduce their salary to $1???

[thecanadian]

At least the Auto Mfg. are trying - finally. You sure didn't see the big biz (AIG) management giving up anything! Also the Union workers are willing to work with the Auto Makers & will take a "hit" - they need JOBS!

[ronpaul supporter]

trying? you call that trying? wait until they get the money. They'll hop right back in their old ways. the only way to fix the problem in Detroit is to stop subsidizing it.

[Novelene]

And if they don't get the bailout?

[X-man]

I don't think Americans understand the true problem!
It's not that the big 3 don't know how to run their business; it’s the fact that we have unfair trade agreements.
The politicians are still pushing a global market and a global economy. Take a look at George Bush our country is in a recession and he is still pushing free trade agreements.
Our politicians need to determine if we are a country of cheep labor or a country of lifestyle. Once we determine what we are as a nation than we can create policies that benefit our nation, I’ll say it once again OUR NATION not the global market.
We can't compete with countries that have a lower standard of living and earn $100 a month THAT is the issue!!!!!
As for the other Auto makers they don’t have the legacy cost that the big 3 automakers have. Once again a country of lifestyle has benefits.
We need tariffs or fair and open trade agreements.
So keep sleeping and it will be too late.
Once again we need fair trade agreements to benefit all small and large business, America must be a leader in manufacturing a technology to maintain their super power status. Oh and a monetary reform, kick out the Federal Reserve and take back our money.
Why should we pay interest on nothing, we are not using their Gold to back our currency.

[research]

Read Moore's column:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-moore/saving-the-big-3-for-you_b_147970.html

Let's buy controlling shares of the Big three.

Fire the current management.

Hire new management.

The same factories can also build Wind turbines.

[Clayton139]

I agree !

[IThinkThereforeNotGOP]

Hopefully someone in Congress will slip up and say "$1 in compensation," instead of "$1 salary." Then we'd see some true colors.

[bioluminescence]

These guys are disingenuous. Are we supposed to feel sorry for them and urge our Congressman to support a Detroit bail-out? What's their next card? An offer to take on a paper route after work and donate the money to Washington? And after that, an offer to allow underprivileged kids to take sailing lessons in their swimming pools?

[PresWatch]

They are asking for a loan, not a bailout. You don't need to feel sorry for the poobahs, but you do need to be concerned about the autoworkers and the countless ancillary businesses that depend on our auto industry surviving and prospering. Do you think bankers and the Wall Street fatcats cut their salaries and bonuses? Congress didn't ask them to tighten their belts. Paulson didn't ask them to sacrifice. Instead he gave several banks $25 billion each, and they used our money to buy other banks; one bank even bought a manufacturing company in China with their BAILOUT money. Happy with that? You should ask your Congressional Representative and Senator to insist on reigning in Paulson's giveaways.­..ask them to do their jobs...and ask them to save Detroit with a loan, not a bailout.

[ronpaul supporter]

Detroit is so dead nobody can save it, don't lie to yourself. Nobody should get bailed out. everybody should be held to the same standard - if people who were frugal and smart don't get a bailout then losers like GM, Citi, AIG, etc should not get money either.
we live in a socialist country and nobody has the balls to admit it. We all know what happens to socialism eventually.

[bioluminescence]

There was a time when the Detroit auto industry was the employment backbone of America. But not today. Today UPS employs more people than Ford and GM combined. Four times more people. Give public money to Detroit because the U. S. auto industry is in trouble? Not really. Toyota USA, Nissan USA, BMW and KIA are all expanding their operations in America. And they're not standing in line, palms up asking for public money. It is sad that Detroit and hard working people there are hurting. But Detroit has no monopoly on hurt in America.

[conniec]

Why are we lowering the boom on these guys, while AIG - after promising to forego bonuses - decided, instead, to just delay them until 2009. The auto guys are being held to a higher standard.

That being said, EVERY CEO of ANY company/bank that has been driven into the ground by executive incompetence (and has a hand out for a taxpayer bailout), needs to get the boot. If I failed as dramatically in my job, as they have done in theirs, I'd be standing in line, trying to get a free block of cheese.

So in the financial sector, is it the now-flush-­with-taxpa­yer-bailou­t-money banks that AREN'T lending? Or is it just that American't aren't buying ANYTHING, because they're afraid they won't have a job tomorrow? What a mess!!

[MakeAWish]

This comment is an insult to us taxpayers. $1 in salary? But how many millions in bonuses? Are you all going to forgo those to?

[RealDCC]

Wow, what a set of idiotic comments, demonstrating incredible ignorance.

Focusing upon the picture: just who do you think is in it? Look carefully. UAW President Ron Gettlefinger is on the left.

Given the HIGHLY PUBLICIZED WORLDWIDE downturn in automotive sales, you would think that people would stop relying upon the discredited "people don't want to buy American cares" meme. Take a look at all those Japanese cars filling the west coast docks and storage lots, and check out the sales projections and sales performances of all of the auto industry, and you see the problem right now is a credit crunch.

You would also think that someone would research the length of service of Ford's CEO and figure out that far from "driving the company into the ground", he was already spearheading a tough and promising turn-around plan within Ford.

And, by the way, the Chrysler CEO joined the company in 2007. Both Ford and Chrysler execs came from outside of the auto industry, moves which could break up the human tendancy for group-think, especially when success in group-think is the vehicle for advancement.

But clearly, considering those facts would blow up the "American car companies should wither and die" psychosis.

This short-sighted bi-coastal and southern (home of the transplants) hatred of the US auto industry is approaching the corrosiveness of a terrorist attack on the manufacturing sector of the US.

[MattInVA]

RealDCC, you should check out this post on autoblog:

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/12/02/opinion-stop-arm-chair-quarterbacking-the-auto-industry/

It's a good little opinion piece about all the "experts" who've shown up lately who don't know a damned things about the auto industry offering all sorts of insanely stupid suggestions. Many of which you can read on this site. :)

As a rule of thumb, if a comment here starts out with "Why don't they just ... " or "What they need to do is ...", it will immediately be followed by ignorance.

[TheViewFromCydonia]

Absolutely. But not in salary.

Instead, make that $1 in total compensation.

[LesserFool2]

They shouldn't be around to find out. They need to be fired immediately. The

fact that they had to be told they needed a business plan before asking for taxpayer dollars; and the fact that they didn't see their own hypocrisy with their costly private-jet travels tells me that these guys just don't get it.

And their belated getting with the program is nothing more than part of the begging act. But, members of Congress should not be persuaded by it. These "leaders" are pathetic incompetent losers that represent the worst of corporate America -- of raping the rank-and-file workers and enriching the executives, to say nothing of raping the environment with their myopic product portfolio.

[RealDCC]

While I think they should have had more of a plan, consider the precidents that had already been set: where is the plan for the bank BAILOUTS, and who demanded one?

Oh, and try catching up with current and near-term product plans.

It seems your preferred solution would be bankrupcy. Given the tsunami of economic destruction that would result, that would be irresponsible.

[RobChattaTN]

so they will "cancel all management employees' 2009 bonuses and will not pay any merit increases"

nice to c that Congress is treating the blue collar companies
just as they did the white collar companies, ie. the financials!!

yeah, right!

whatever happened to equal treatment (under the law-yers?)

those with $$$/power so often seem to get preferential treatment!
and here i was thinking we were living in a democracy? silly me!

[amyeom]

A salary is peanuts next to bonuses and stock options. This is a gimmick.

[justsaynomore08]

The salaries aren't the issue. The head of GM had a base salary of $2 million and total compensation of $21.7 million last year, according to the company's filings. The head of Ford received base pay of $1.6 million and total compensation of $14.4 million. Closely-held Chrysler does not disclose executive pay. So the base pay drops to $1 - what about all the bonuses and other compensation they receive. The base pay is nothing in comparison! Why not cap their total compensation. This is ridiculous!

[clearmindedman]

Lee Iacocca did it. But he was honorable.

Oil is collapsing again today, giving the auto makers a chance to thrive. From $150 a barrel to $47 almost overnight!

http://theliepOlitic.com/2008/12/oil-nations-face-economic-destruction/