GM CEO Mary Barra's pay dipped to $21.6 million in 2019
General Motors Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra received a compensation package worth $21.6 million in 2019, 1.1% less than the previous year, according to the U.S. automaker's proxy statement released on Monday.
Barra's pay package included a salary of $2.1 million, stock awards worth $12.14 million, options worth more than $3.5 million and a performance award worth $2.73 million, according to the proxy. Her salary remained unchanged from 2018, while performance award was 38.7% lower from 2018.
Barra's total compensation package was valued at $21.63 million, below the $21.87 million she received in 2018. Barra, GM's chairman and CEO, was paid $21.96 million in 2017.
GM said Barra's pay was 203 times that of the median company employee.
The company on Monday suspended its quarterly cash dividend on its common stock and its share buybacks to save cash in the face of the coronavirus crisis that has severely hurt global automobile sales.
GM, which has been forced to shut some production in North America along with other car makers, had also said last month that compensation of board members will be reduced by 20%, while executives will see a cut of 25% to 30%.
"We continue to enhance our liquidity to help navigate the uncertainties in the global market created by this pandemic," said GM Chief Financial Officer Dhivya Suryadevara.
GM, which has been forced to shut some production in North America along with other car makers, had earlier said it has postponed work on at least half a dozen future models to conserve cash during the pandemic.
GM as well as rivals Ford and Toyota have taken steps to reopen North American vehicle manufacturing operations in early May, but the move has met with opposition from the companies' labor union that say it is "too soon and too risky" to reopen auto plants.
The No.1 U.S. automaker also said on Monday it had extended a three-year revolving credit agreement for $3.6 billion to April 2022.
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(Reporting by Shanti S Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
