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GM CEO's Pay Slips After Board Sets Tougher Bonus Targets

GM CEO’s Pay Slips a Second Year After Board Set Tougher Targets

GM CEO's Pay Slips After Board Sets Tougher Bonus Targets
Mary Barra, chief executive officer of General Motors Co., speaks during an Annual Shareholders Meeting at the company’s headquarters in Detroit, Michigan, U.S. (Photographer: Jeff Kowalsky/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- General Motors Co. paid Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra and other top management less last year after the board set tougher goals that they exceeded by slimmer margins.

Barra, 56, earned almost $22 million in 2017, down about $624,000 from a year earlier, according to GM’s annual proxy statement. The CEO’s non-equity incentive plan paid out about $1.8 million less than 2016, and she also was given about $2.3 million less in stock awards.

The drop in non-equity pay was in part due to GM’s board setting more difficult targets. One that the company didn’t meet was automotive free cash flow, which fell by about $3 billion last year to $5.2 billion, driven by lower automotive earnings and spending on sales incentives.

GM reported record adjusted earnings of $6.62 a share last year. About 89 percent of Barra’s compensation is determined by whether the company meets performance targets.

In 2016, GM executives significantly exceeded goals that determine their pay. Last year, they outperformed by less, spokesman Tom Henderson said.

GM shares fell 1.7 percent as of 3:12 p.m. in New York and are down about 8.2 percent this year. The stock advanced 18 percent in 2017.

Executives weren’t the only ones to see a small cut in compensation. The profit-sharing checks paid out to hourly workers represented by the United Auto Workers union were $11,750 for 2017, down slightly from $12,000 for 2016.

To contact the reporter on this story: David Welch in Southfield at dwelch12@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Craig Trudell at ctrudell1@bloomberg.net.

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.