REPORT: Next Chrysler CEO salary capped at $500,000
The next chief executive of Chrysler will be tasked with bringing the company out of bankruptcy, restructuring into a profitable business, repaying government loans (if and when they do so at all), integrating Fiat technology and retaining jobs wherever possible. Oh, and he or she will have to do it all on no more than $500,000 a year. This according to the latest reports, based on new Treasury Department regulations.
In receiving funds from the $700 billion financial industry bail-out coffers, Chrysler becomes one of the first companies to fall under new regulations outlined by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner (pictured above) that stipulate chief executives of any firms receiving said funding can't receive compensation exceeding the half-million mark. And not just the chief executive, either, but the top 25 suits in the company. The regulations don't limit the executives from receiving stock options, but with Chrysler's shares being split between Fiat, the UAW and the Canadian and U.S. federal governments, there aren't any shares to go around to offer the cut-rate execs. And to compound things, the executives have to agree to waive the right to sue the government for cutting their wages. The regulations further state that the recipient of the funds (i.e. Chrysler) is barred from owning or leasing private jets, so Fiat executives flying from Turin to Detroit will have to pay their own way. However, the regulations are ambiguous when it comes to payment for second jobs: in other words, who can say if Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne would be capped at $500k overall if he took the helm at Chrysler, as well?
[Source: Detroit Free Press | Image Source: Win McNamee/Getty]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
alfaBAT9 5:07PM (5/05/2009)
..only in my wildest dreams could I make that much coin.
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Luke Kobilan 5:25PM (5/05/2009)
Socialism.
He should make more as he performs better and less as he performs poorer. No capping his salary. Just don't give him millions when he fails or does a lousy job.
Will 8:58AM (5/06/2009)
I'm an engineer. No matter what I do I'll never make the rich cream until I get into management. It's been that way for decades. You think we were socialists under Reagan? It was same today as it was then. Gonna have to get my MBA.
tuxchown 5:07PM (5/05/2009)
Oh the humanity! How will he ever survive!?
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TigerMil 5:10PM (5/05/2009)
1. He will be laughed at by GM and Ford execs.
2. Unless he has one helluva expense account.
3. He gets a Viper company car.
4. By the way, he gets a Viper company car
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zamafir 5:47PM (5/05/2009)
lmao this good ol' boys dick measuring didn't seem to help his predecessor. New idea, don't give a rat's ass what GM execs think because they're doing a crap job to and focus at the job at hand instead. revolutionary, i know.
Mont2099 5:12PM (5/05/2009)
Scrooge McDuck is running the Treasury Department lol
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Ken Stamper 5:11PM (5/05/2009)
I sympathize with the anger of excessive executive compensation, especially for a company receiving federal funds, but $500,000? This doesn't strike me as the best way to recruit the best management talent, especially given the difficulty of this job.
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audi_arena 5:16PM (5/05/2009)
Agreed. Why don't we figure out a way to punish the lousy CEO's the brought these company's down rather than punishing the company's future?
Mike 5:53PM (5/05/2009)
Not only will he get paid way below comparably situated peers, but he's also going to be thrown under the bus by the White House if he doesn't work miracles. Anyone who could actually revive Chrysler isn't going to want to take that risk for that amount of reward. . .
DKB_SATX 6:32PM (5/05/2009)
The day after they pay back the government bailout "loans" the board can pay him whatever they please.
Rocketboy 8:59AM (5/06/2009)
No kidding. I don't think I'd want a CEO that agrees to work under the gov't thumb.
Galley 5:13PM (5/05/2009)
I'll do it for $250K.
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cWj 8:38PM (5/05/2009)
I'll do it for $250.
John 5:31PM (5/05/2009)
They're going to get some top notch talent in the Chrysler head office now. Imagine, making 1/10th to 1/20th the salary you could at any other Fortune 500 company, plus the sheer unadulterated joy of having a government bureaucrat looking over your shoulder second-guessing (or overriding) your every decision? Where do I get my application?
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john7733 5:21PM (5/05/2009)
This is a complete Joke!! Good Luck getting someone talented enough to pull this off with that type of salary - there better be some serious upside in later years.
What most people don't realize about these jobs...They don't come around that often. If you screw up in these high level positions its a lot tougher to find your next position. You can't just walk down the street and get a top level job at an automaker.
Two things:
-These people work their a$$es off to get to these positions, mostly at the expense of personal lives
-What if that is the last money/job they will ever be able to get if they mess up? $500K is not enough to retire on, million dollar decisions create million dollar salaries.
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Mark K. 7:21PM (5/05/2009)
john7733:
"$500K is not enough to retire on, million dollar decisions create million dollar salaries."
You are being sarcastic, right? Just in case you aren't, you should always remember and NEVER forget that we are talking about EMPLOYEES. If somebody wants to earn millions by making million dollars decision, they are free to open a business with THEIR own money and call the shots as they see fit and reward themselves as they see fit.
RandomNess 5:22PM (5/05/2009)
$500k, hell I can run a company into complete extinction for HALF that amount and get it done faster.
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justin 7:02PM (5/05/2009)
and I love it! I love this chaos.
andy 5:22PM (5/05/2009)
thats 500K to much.........That money should be used to start paying the tax payers back
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