Franco-Italian automaker Stellantis boosted the total compensation of CEO Carlos Tavares by 56% to 36.49 million euros (USD 39.5 million) in 2023, the Franco-Italian automaker said on Thursday. Last year, he received 23.47 million euros in cash and vested equity, including a 10 million euro transformation incentive. The latter component has been disbursed to meet milestones tied to challenges the industry is facing on global mobility, technology and electric vehicles.
Another component of his package includes 13 billion euros in long-term incentives linked to specific performance targets, which might not be achieved and result in full payment.
Stellantis shareholders’ non-binding vote on executive remuneration last year approved the 23.5 million euro 2022 package for Tavares after rejecting his compensation the previous year.
Stellantis said that it led the automotive industry in financial performance in the first half of 2023 and that its share price has outperformed the industry and S&P 500 index by a significant margin since its inception in 2021. The company owns brands like Chrysler, Jeep and Fiat.
The company disclosed that its employees earned an average of 70,404 euros in 2023, up 9.4% from 2022. However, Tavares’ total compensation was 518 times that, which is a significant increase from the ratio in 2022. It added that the higher ratio was because of the impact of a one-off payment relating to a long-term incentive for 2021-2025.
Automakers like Ford and General Motors (GM) have not yet disclosed the CEO pay for 2023. In 2022 though, GM’s Mary Barra received USD 29 million in total compensation while Ford’s Jim Farley received nearly USD 21 million. However, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union was highly critical of the level of pay received by the chief executives during last year’s talks with the Detroit Three automakers.
The UAW made targeted strikes at the three automakers, including Chrysler and secured an immediate 11% pay rise for its members and 25% increase in base wages through 2028. The union also negotiated a reduction in the time it takes workers to reach top pay, to three years from eight. Another clause of the contract secured mentioned that temporary workers, meanwhile, will be made permanent and receive a 150% pay rise.