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

[humanbeing03]

$1 a day? And then give the company $25 Billion? And none will land in the CEO pocket? Get rid of em. Have each three companies run by Kucinich and the profits ,instead of lining pockets, will be used for fixing all the countries we just destroyed. Invest in Education, Green energy and Small scale Organic farms. Tell these fellows to get a middle class lifestyle, and let the people have paradise back. Sharing is great.

[rebelzz]

One year isn't enough!!! They've millions in back-salaries that don't justify their performance at all.

[donveylindsey]

donvey lindsey lol it owukd be better if they said they would take a janitorial job in the company

[jalowe1957]

How the hell can someone live on $1 a year salary? Would that make them eligible for food stamps and Medicaid?

This isn't making sacrifices for the public good, it's posturing and giving hickies to the posterior, plain and simple.

[VelvetElvis]

Quite honorable.

I'm sure they're being totally honest when they say they'd take only a $1 annual salary ... but they neglect to add "But you're outta yer minds/crazy/loco if you think I'm giving up my bonus."

[zanzig]

I don't think they should be paid a dollar. I don't think they should be paid at all. Sack them for gross failure of the business, probably malfeasance or, in the alternative, complete and utter incompetence.

[abbeyroad]

the fatcat in the middle has a mouth like knucklehead smiff.

[ErnestineBass]

That would be GM chief Rick Wagoner, the man who ki lled the EV-1.

[RogerRantjet]

I bet that the fine print reads that they are to be paid 20 million years in advance.

[sent2null]

funny! and clever...

[truthfulb]

I got a idea how about the CEO's give up there jobs and they place some fresh new faces with bright ideas to run the company instead of the some ones who ran it into the ground? That would be too much like right huh

[enaid]

Sure I believe they'll follow through on that promise. Just like I believed AIG wouldn't give giant bonus' to execs --no indeed, they're giving "cash awards" instead. Read Jonathan Tasini's article on Huffpost on Nov. 28th. Snakes on planes. Did any of us believe any single part of this bailout from the first cry of "the sky is falling and you must rescue all of us"? not me.

[SeanONe]

They should be fired. If you lost that much money would you be :
a) Promoted
b) Fired

[Duey Moore]

fired

[Oaktowmie]

and sent to jail!

[ohiodem250]

I'm not giving the automaker executives a pass here, but they have been treated absolutely disgustingly by the Congress and, as is evidenced by the large number of completely tasteless and ignorant comments on this board, the wider public. They were laughed out of DC because they took private planes. Now they are forced to publicly admit they'd work for $1 a year. The day after they were laughed out of DC, the Feds gave Citigroup $20 billion. Citigroup execs didn't even have to gas up the private jet to DC - they made a phone call. The earlier bailout package was for $700 billion and no one asked Wall Street for a plan on how they'd spend the money "down to the penny." All the populist bull$h*t rhetoric I see being thrown around here is a disgrace. There are approximately 5 million jobs at stake here. And not Wall Street daytrader jobs - these are mfg parts suppliers, car dealers, and, yes, the union folks who build the cars and run the plants. I'm a Democrat but this comment board makes me ashamed.

[BuckeyeGal]

I'm with you. I think most here are exhausted by all the bailouts, as well as the circumstances under which they were garnered and subsequently squandered.
However -- I think most here are in their 'pitchforks and torches' mood because there are three actual people on which they can vent their rage over the previously mentioned foul-ups. Too bad they can't see the forest for the trees.

[JeffersonState]

I am not sure why all the posters here are cheering for the downfall of the Big 3. The implications and ramifications to the country would be dire.

Regarding the "private plane" brewhaha.... A five hour drive would actually cost GM more money in salary than the one hour of jet fuel. Its a forest thru the trees thing for the haters.

They ought to fly to DC commercial coach to appease the haters.

BTW haters- make a conscience effort to buy American whenever possible, and the economy will recover just fine. To argue otherwise is a fools arguement.

[montecore]

$1 Suuuuure, then they only pay Capital Gains Tax rather than payroll tax on their money. And the stock get diluted.

[Dave-O]

So what's the plan? Is that it? Pay cut for the CEO? Big, freaking deal! If I went into a bank with that as my business plan, they would euthanize me!!! What a bunch of condescending idiots. $1 a year and how many millions in stock options an other perks? Do they think we're stupid!!!

[kstuff]

Ford and GM stock are hovering around $2 to $5 a share. So much for making a fortune off of stock options. These CEO's are not crooks. For info on this type of CEO see AIG, Goldman Sachs, Citibank, etc.