General Motors CEO Mary Barra saw a 4% decrease in total compensation in 2023, with her earnings falling to .8 million, making her the second highest-paid executive among the Detroit Three. This places her behind Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, who earned nearly 36.5 million euros last year, and Ford CEO Jim Farley, who received .5 million in 2023.
In a letter to shareholders included in the proxy statement, GM Compensation Committee Chair Wesley Bush acknowledged that the company had underperformed in its transformation journey, particularly in EV production and AV technology. This underperformance was reflected in GM’s stock price, stock options held by executives, and the below-target payout of performance share units.
Barra’s nonequity incentive plan compensation dropped by over million year over year, from .26 million in 2022 to .25 million in 2023. Her base salary, stock awards, and option awards remained unchanged from the previous year.
Despite Barra’s decrease in pay, compensation for other GM executives increased in 2023. GM President Mark Reuss earned .4 million, up from .9 million in 2022. CFO Paul Jacobson’s pay rose to .9 million from million the previous year. Michael Abbott, who served as EVP of software before resigning in March due to health reasons, earned .3 million in compensation last year.
GM announced plans to target sales of 200,000 to 300,000 electric vehicles in 2024, scaling back its production targets to maximize profitability. Additionally, GM subsidiary Cruise suffered a .7 billion loss last year and expects expenses of about .7 billion in 2023. Barra mentioned during the Q1 earnings call that GM may seek outside investment to fund the robotaxi operation, expressing confidence in the technology’s potential.
