Ford CEO offers to work for $1 a year

Ford CEO offers to work for $1 a year

www.msnbc.msn.com

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.

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.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Somebody actually did it!

I'm completely against bailing these guys out with government money (aka our money), but good for him!

Maybe a little of this attitude before (albeit not as extreme) would have kept them out of this mess.

I'll be interested to see how this develops.

All three companies are filing separate plans. Congressional hearings are planned for Thursday and Friday.

www.msnbc.msn.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Talk about SHUTTING a lot of people UP.

This is a BOLD move and GREAT PR MOVE.

HE SHUT UP a lot of you BY DOING THIS!

I don't know how many people this will shut up, but I'm pretty confident that nobody expected anyone to actually offer to do this.

This is a great PR move, however it does show the level of desperation this company is facing.

If things are so bad that the CEO is willing to do this in order to get bailout funds for the company... We should seriously question if $1 of taxpayer money should be given to a company in such bad shape.

Let the capitalist system sort them out, bailout the American people for a change. I am sure this CEO will live well on the hundreds of millions made over the years.

If the man is already rich enough that it doesn't matter how much more money he makes, then maybe a more apt offer would be to work for nothing... regardless of whether his company gets bailout money.

The reason he is doing this is because he can AFFORD to!! He doesnt have to get another paycheck for the rest of his life and his family 3 generations from now will ALL still be set.

Still; though its a good PR move and maybe more of the high paid CEO's will do the same.

My question would be, do we want him to continue with his work.

He has managed to run this company into the ground so that now he needs a bailout from the government.

Perhaps he needs to be replaced with someone who has the vision to get Ford out of the dumpster?

It looks like all three CEO's will work for $1, and they are selling the corporate jets.

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.

CNN: Ford unveils turnaround plan

[edit on 12/2/2008 by Hal9000]

Lee Iacocca did the same thing and his salery was based on the strenth of the stock. It was a great maneuver back then and it's just a great now. This is going to be a tough act for GM & Chrystler to follow.

If you look at the grand scheme of things however, when Iacocca did it, Chrystler stock was about the same, he was issed X number of shares instead of a salery, then when he left, Iacocca's stocks were worth much more (obviously).

It's a great move by the one CEO who has the least to worry about. Sure, Fords in bad shape... The the problems they have been fixing over the last two years have slowed their losses. GM and Crystler kept going like nothing was happening.

It takes a brilliant mind to create something like this. Iacocca definatly was. But, don't think that Ford's CEO is just copying, this will boost customer loyalty and help Ford far more than just in the court cases.

Besides... He's still not going without. While Icocca was getting $1 a year, he wass still flying on a private jet to (I believe it was New York) each week for a haircut and lunch.

Ahhhhhh... The life of a CEO!

Wait minute!!

He also said Tuesday his company will seek money from the government, but may not need it.

So then why is Ford seeking money? Just because the other guys are? Like the bums on welfare who take government money just because they can?

Whooooaaaaa! Something seriously wrong with this picture!
Where's the ethics? The US economy as a whole is going to be so bankrupt over all the bailouts/handouts there will be nobody who could afford a car even if the companies survive to produce them.
Oh, I forgot, they will be making and selling cars in China, S. America and Russia.
Silly me.

[edit on 2-12-2008 by wayno]

Lee Iococa

Did this with Chrysler back in the 80's during their "BAILOUT"



He worked for like 2 or 3 years for nothing then recieved a huge BONUS for hundreds of millions when they started making money.

It's a publicity stunt.
Besides they are already mega millionaires!

I am sorry, but this is nothing but a publicity stunt.

Like other Industries, the $1 wages is in addition to bonuses, stock options,...............

Bet if you checked, you would see he would still be raking in 10's if not 100's of millions.

So let me get this right, Ford will reduce its operating cost by 1-10 million (by his proposal) and they want 10 Billion or so from the government???????
The difference is something like a factor of 1000.

Also, like POP said, he can VERY easily afford to do this; in fact he could go the rest of his and his family’s lives without ever working again.

If you want to show "ME" real corporate change, lower the corporate board earning (saliery, bonus,stocks....) to $40% of what they make now.

If that seems harsh, remember, these are the people that drove the Ford Corporation into the ground.
The harsher requirement might be that the entire corporate board be replaced before any bailout money cones.
For that matter, how about showing a sound business plan on how they plan to change and save the corporation, before any money goes to them.

BTW, sorry off topic, I feel this should also apply to G.M. and Chrysler.

Meh...I'm not impressed.

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.

Status Symbol; $1 annual Salaries

As you can see, the Ford CEO was supposed to do this three and a half years ago. And it has been the trend for awhile now for CEO's to take a $1 annual salary...to do so now in the face of economic trial is a weak and empty gesture in my opinion.

There is a video on youtube from the latest hearings (couple of weeks ago) where the only big3 ceo that stated they would work for a dollar was Nattarelli of Chrysler. Ford and GM ceo's were asked if they would do the same and they both said no.........

Stunt all the way............

Far too empty of a gesture... This, like I mentioned earlier, is not going to hurt the CEO at all.

Personally, I think Ford should not take the bailout. I think that will enhance their stance in public minds and will hurt them short term, but intermediate and long term, they will be HUGE winners to Mr. American Taxpayer.

As I have mentioned before and in other posts, Ford is not as bad off as the other Big 3... If they can keep face, they might be the only one left. Heck, they might even buy GM.

If it wasnt for the present economic situation I would say let them file chapter 11 and if they go down then so be it.

They refuse to build, Good looking cars, fuel effeciant cars, and the reliability is still not there. meanwhile as the post shows they build wonderful vehicles around the globe so I say let them fall.

Rest assured he has written a retro pay clause somewhere into this new ploy. This is only temporary. Once the money hits, he'll get paid. They will say anything to get the dough.

No bailout! Restructure.

that $1. would be pure profit,

whereas the line workers, clean up staff will pay all kinds of deductions/taxes on their measly compensation.

in any event, he will not spend any of that $1 on the execuitive Jet,
nor his daily lunch at his opulent & spacious office, as the personal barber coifs his hair (all at no expense),
his office dwelling no doubtl has the the jaccuzzi in the bath, etc
...and a staff doctor is always on call.

asw far as gassing up, the corp. pays for his with the unlimited debit card,
but he only uses that when he's not availing himself of the Limo with driver at his disposal.

all-in-all, as the CEO, he has little expense that is not charged off to the corp. as a business expense, as his lawyers & agents have seen to it hat every moment of his life has been determined to be company oriented and therefore 'paid for' without exhaustive and tedious record keeping for reimbursements.... the CEO is an oligarch, for want of a better profiling


give-me-a-break...... $1.00 a year pay
(and covertly a secreted $1,000,000. of 'compensation') or even 'delayed compensation' to be awarded after the Congressional microscope has been put away, or after that chronological 'year' has expired.

Too much room for word meaning manipulation in the statement!


the same treatment can be applied to 'bonuses', wage, pay, compensation.... or whatever description given the exchange of wealth for his time or knowledge or advice.

Now, get the rest of his board and ALL the UAW workers to do the same. Then we can talk about using my tax dollars to save your company.

This is nothing but public relations from the ass drumming he got earlier. I could care less about their company. Other companies have come and gone and a few were larger, in their day.

They still produce cars that suck and are generally a bad product for being overly priced out of the market.