GM denies reports of proposed hike in CEO Akerson's 2013 pay
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GM CEO Dan Akerson is paid considerably less than Alan Mulally, the CEO of Ford, the largest U.S. automaker to avoid bankruptcy in 2009. |
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DETROIT -- General Motors today strongly denied several media reports that it has requested an increase in CEO Dan Akerson's government-approved compensation for 2013.
On Monday, The Detroit News and Bloomberg were among news outlets saying GM is proposing to pay Akerson $11.1 million this year. The stories cited documents and people close to the matter.
A GM official who requested anonymity said the $11.1 million figure represents Akerson's actual compensation for 2012, not a request for 2013.
Akerson's pay last year ended up being higher than the $9 million originally requested primarily because he received restricted stock units that were earned in 2011. Under the government's pay restrictions, those stock units can't be issued until the year after they are earned.
Akerson was paid $7.7 million for 2011, when his target compensation was $9 million.
"Reports that General Motors has requested an increase in Dan Akerson's 2013 compensation are false," GM said in a statement. "In fact, Dan specifically asked to keep his compensation at the same level for 2013 as it was in 2012 and 2011. That amount of $9 million is what the company submitted to the Office of the Special Master for TARP Executive Compensation.
"Unfortunately, someone who obviously did not understand the compensation request leaked the information in a way that misrepresented the truth in order to score political points on the eve of a congressional hearing," GM said.
The Detroit News reported the pay proposal was outlined in a document submitted to Congress as part of hearings scheduled today.
The House Oversight Committee is holding a hearing today on executive pay at companies whose compensation has been supervised by the Treasury.
GM is planning $82 million in compensation for its top 25 executives, Bloomberg reported, citing a document it also obtained.
While the names of the GM employees were redacted, Akerson was identified as the highest-paid by a person familiar with the material who asked not to be revealed disclosing private information, Bloomberg reported.
Pay for executives at seven bailed-out companies, including GM, was scrutinized and restricted by the Treasury starting in 2009. American International Group Inc., Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., Chrysler Group and Chrysler Financial Corp. have left the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program and are no longer subject to the department's pay rulings.
Akerson is paid considerably less than Alan Mulally, the CEO of Ford Motor Co., the largest U.S. automaker to avoid bankruptcy in 2009. Mulally's 2011 compensation rose 11 percent to $29.5 million. A few weeks before Ford revealed Mulally's full-year compensation, the company gave him $58.3 million in stock as a reward for the automaker's turnaround.
Daimler AG, maker of Mercedes-Benz luxury cars and heavy trucks, cut CEO Dieter Zetsche's pay 5.8 percent amid a reduction in managers' bonuses as the world's third-biggest maker of luxury cars fell behind competitors in sales and dropped profit goals. His total compensation for 2012 totaled 8.15 million euros ($10.7 million).
Volkswagen AG said last week that CEO Martin Winterkorn will receive 17 percent less compensation.
Bloomberg and David Phillips contributed to this report
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