General Motors hopes to rid itself of the 'Government Motors' stigma over the next year or so. After announcing a big sell-off at the end of 2012, the U.S. Treasury has been quietly working on selling off the rest of its stake in GM.
But the government still wants a say in what the company pays its top executives.
The Detroit Free Press' Todd Spangler and Nathan Bomey reported early this morning that GM wants to give Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson a $2.1 million raise:
General Motors is proposing an $11.1-million compensation package for Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson this year, $2.1 million more than it paid him in 2012, according to documents obtained Monday by the Free Press.
But those reports have since been denied by General Motors, here's Bomey's report from later this morning:
General Motors denied reports Tuesday that it had asked for a $2 million pay increase for its chairman and chief executive, accusing someone of leaking inaccurate information to "score political points" in Washington.
Regardless of what Akerson will be paid, the government says it will continue to watch CEO pay at bailed out companies like GM.
They hope to avoid a stigma of there own - tax dollars going to enormous CEO salaries.
There's a hearing being held in Washington D.C. today on that very subject.
The House Oversight & Government Reform committee appears to have a conclusion on the matter based on the title of the hearing:
GM has argued that the government's limitations on CEO pay has kept them from recruiting top talent.
Spangler and Bomey compared Akerson's $9.1 million salary with others.
By contrast, Ford paid CEO Alan Mulally $29.5 million in 2011, while Sergio Marchionne, who heads Chrysler, Fiat and Fiat Industrial, received a combined $22.2 million from Fiat and Fiat Industrial.
Chrysler also received a government bailout, so Marchionne turned down his Chrysler salary and bonuses in 2010 and 2011.
