Ford's CEO may get $1 a year in salary, but that doesn't include other benefits including stock options and the rise in Ford shares in his personal stock portfolio.
Vowing to earn only $1 a year is a great PR move, but let's not forget that Ford and the other Detroit Big Three are in deep financial trouble, not because their executives make a lot of money, but because they didn't offer enough fuel efficient vehicles when the gas prices soared.
That and the financial crisis have devastated these car makers. Note that Toyota and Honda also are suffering from the financial crisis, but they're not in danger of going bankrupt.
Here's the story.
Ford says CEO will work for $1 to get loans(AP) DETROIT - Ford Motor Co. will tell Congress that it plans to return to a pretax profit or break even in 2011 when the Detroit Three automakers' CEOs appear before lawmakers this week to request $25 billion in government loans.
Ford CEO Alan Mulally said he'll work for $1 per year if the company has to take any government loan money.
After grilling the CEOs at hearings last month, Congressional leaders demanded plans from the automakers by Tuesday to show that they will survive if they get federal funds. The plan Ford submitted said the company will cancel all management employees' 2009 bonuses and will not pay any merit increases for its North American salaried employees next year.
The company also said it will sell its five corporate aircraft. The CEOs of all three Detroit automakers were harshly criticized during last month's hearings for flying to Washington in separate corporate jets.
Mulally said in an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday that Ford will give much more detail to Congress than it did previously, and the company will emphasize the steps it has taken to cut its labor costs with the United Auto Workers union.
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