GM CEO’s compensation falls 4% (2024)

General Motors CEO Mary Barra’s total compensation fell 4% year over year in 2023, down to $27.8 million, according to the company’s proxy statement filed last week.

Barra is now the second highest-paid executive among the Detroit Three. She trails behind Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, who earned nearly 36.5 million euros last year. Ford CEO Jim Farley’s total compensation came in third at $26.5 million in 2023.

In a letter to shareholders included in the proxy, GM Compensation Committee Chair Wesley Bush noted the company “underperformed relative to its commitments on its transformation journey in 2023, particularly with EV production and AV technology.”

Bush said the underperformance was reflected in GM’s stock price, the value of stock options held by executives and the below-target payout of performance share units last year.

Barra’s nonequity incentive plan compensation decreased by slightly more than $1 million year over year, from $6.26 million in 2022 to $5.25 million last year. Her base salary of $2.1 million, stock awards and option awards remained unchanged from 2022.

GM is targeting sales of 200,000 to 300,000 electric vehicles in 2024, the company announced last week. The sales goal reflects the company’s reduced production plans — it initially planned to produce up to 400,000 EVs by mid-2024, but scaled back targets earlier this year to maximize profitability.

Meanwhile, GM subsidiary Cruise lost $2.7 billion last year and expects expenses to be about $1.7 billion this year. During its Q1 earnings call last week, Barra said GM may take outside investment to fund the robotaxi operation, noting the company is “very excited about where we are in the technology and very much believe in it.”

Despite the drop in Barra’s pay, compensation for other GM executives rose last year.

GM President Mark Reuss earned $17.4 million last year, up from $13.9 million in 2022. CFO Paul Jacobson’s pay rose to $10.9 million, an increase from $10 million from the year prior.

Michael Abbott, who was named EVP, software, in May 2023, earned $20.3 million in compensation last year. He resigned from GM in March due to health reasons, the proxy statement said.

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