WASHINGTON - Ford Motor Co. CEO Alan Mulally says he'll work for $1 per year if the automaker has to take any government loan money. He also said Tuesday his company will seek money from the government, but may not need it.(visit the link for the full news article)
Detroit's automakers, making a second bid for $25 billion in funding, are presenting Congress with plans Tuesday to restructure their ailing companies and provide assurances that the funding will help them survive and thrive.
All three companies are filing separate plans. Congressional hearings are planned for Thursday and Friday.
The company announced that the salary of Ford CEO Alan Mulally would be cut to $1 a year if Ford (F, Fortune 500) actually borrowed money from the government. When Mulally appeared before the House Financial Services Committee last month, he did not agree to the suggestion of such a paycut.
A spokesman for General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) confirmed to CNN that CEO Rick Wagoner also will accept a $1 salary. Other details of GM's turnaround plan were not immediately available. Chrysler LLC CEO Robert Nardelli agreed during Congressional testimony last month he would also agree to a $1 salary in return for federal help.
Ford and GM also announced plans to get rid of corporate jets. Mulally, Wagoner and Nardelli were all roundly criticized at a House hearing last month when they admitted they had each flown their corporate jets to Washington to ask for help.
Ford said it will sell its five corporate jets. GM said it plans to sell four of its seven jets and is exploring plans to transfer leases on the other three to another operator.
Status Symbol; $1 annual Salaries
The three at the top of Google, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and C.E.O. Eric Schmidt have affirmed their cachet in corporate cool by taking salaries of only $1, according to the proxy statement the company filed on Tuesday evening.
Steve Jobs of Apple is the most famous, receiving only $1 in annual salary since he rejoined the company in 1997. That may soon be changing.
Likewise, Bill Ford, who agreed in May 2005 to forgo all salary and bonuses until Ford Motor's auto business "has achieved sustainable profitability" may soon be getting a new deal.
