It is clear that the corona crisis will have enormous consequences for the car industry. In America, the Big Three fear with great fear of worse situations than in 2008 and the top of Ford therefore decides to (partially) refrain from paying.
Ford factories are down. Both in Europe and in the home country of the United States. It remains to be seen when work can resume, and there is considerable uncertainty about the consequences of the virus, especially in the US. To cope with some of the expected large losses, some of Ford’s top executives have decided they can do with a little less for now.
Bill Ford, the chairman of the board of directors and great-grandson of Ford founder Henry Ford, immediately puts an end to his full salary. Normally, according to Automotive News, the 62-year-old will be paid close to $ 2 million a year. CEO Jim Hackett lets go 50 percent of his salary, he normally makes about $ 1.8 million a year. The CFO and COO also donate half of their reasonably comparable salaries. The men ‘s salary will be cut as of 1 May for a period of five months.
In addition, CEO Hackett writes in a letter to all Ford employees that it does not remain at the absolute top. Also at a lower level in the board, salaries are cut by 20 or 50 percent for the benefit of the company. In total, according to Hackett, this concerns 300 top officials. All in all, it should deliver cost savings large enough to absorb a significant portion of the loss of income in the coming period. If the crisis turns out to have greater consequences, more will follow, according to Hackett.