Wagoner’s GM package valued at $14M

Sharon Terlep / The Detroit News

General Motors Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Rick Wagoner’s 2007 compensation package was valued at roughly $14 million, a 40 percent increase from 2006, the company reported Friday.

Wagoner’s salary of $1.6 million last year was nearly 30 percent higher than the $1.3 million the world’s largest automaker paid him in 2006. In addition, overall cash compensation for the company’s top five executives rose 30 percent from 2006, GM said in a proxy statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company also said that has nominated Coca-Cola Co. CEO Neville Isdell to join its board of directors. GM is adding a seat to the 13-member board to make room for Isdell, who is leaving his CEO post effective July 1. Isdell has headed Coca-Cola, the world’s largest beverage company, since 2004.

Despite cutting billions in costs the past few years, the No. 1 U.S. automaker hasn’t been profitable for a full year since 2004. GM lost a record $38.7 billion last year after posting a massive tax write down last fall.

GM’s share price has plummeted in the months since last fall’s historic labor deal with the United Auto Workers, which turns over nearly $50 billion in retiree health care liabilities to the union in the form of a company funded trust.

The start to 2008 has been tumultuous. GM’s U.S. sales were down 11 percent amid a slump in the domestic auto market, and a handful of UAW locals are threatening strikes against the automaker. One Lansing area factory has been on strike since April 17.

In March, Fritz Henderson, the company’s finance chief, moved into the role of chief operating officer in part to give Wagoner, 55, more leeway to focus on the automaker’s growth around the globe.

Wagoner’s compensation package included a $1.6 million salary, stock options and awards currently valued at $6.3 million. He received no bonus last year or in 2006.

Wagoner took a voluntary 50 percent pay cut in 2006, just after GM’s $10 billion 2005 loss that Wagoner at the time called "unacceptable." His 2007 pay represented a less deep 25 percent cut to his 2005 base salary. Wagoner is on track to earn $2.2 million this year, the same he earned in 2002 through 2005.

Henderson’s 2007 salary was higher last year, while Vice Chairman Bob Lutz, the automaker’s product guru, saw his compensation fall.

Henderson’s compensation package was $7.6 million in 2007, compared to $5.2 million in 2006. Lutz’s package was $6.9 million in 2007, down from $8.4 million in 2006.

Henderson and Lutz each received bumps in salary. Both received $1.3 million, up 10 percent from 2006. In 2006, they each got salaries of $1.2 million.

GM shares were down 75 cents to $21.36 in afternoon trading Friday.

Some of the increase is accounted for by changes GM made to its pension plan, allowing executives to receive their pension at age 60 rather than 62. The change increased the value of executive pensions.

A few weeks ago, Ford Motor Co. said Chief Executive Alan Mulally received a compensation package valued at roughly $22 million in 2006, which was 24 percent less than he made in 2006.

Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. received no compensation, adhering to a pledge he made in 2005 to forego pay until his company returns to sustained profitability.