By Paul Lienert
DETROIT (Reuters) – General Motors Co’s chief executive officer, Mary Barra, received a compensation package worth $22.6 million in 2020, 4.6% more than the previous year, according to the U.S. automaker’s proxy statement released on Friday.
Barra’s pay package included a salary of $2.1 million, stock awards worth $12.99 million, options worth $3.75 million and a performance award worth $3.78 million.
Her base salary remained unchanged from 2019, while stock awards and options were up 7% and performance awards up 38%.
GM said Barra’s compensation was about 201 times the median pay for its employees.
GM’s share price rose more than 13% in 2020, ending the year at $41.84. On Thursday, its shares were $56.84 in midday trade, and its market cap was more than $81 million.
GM faced a number of challenges last year, including short-term plant closings triggered by the spread of COVID-19.
The company suspended its dividend a year ago, and has not indicated if or when it will be reinstated.
A year ago, Barra announced that GM would boost its spending on electric and automated vehicles to more than $27 billion through 2025, with plans to launch 30 EVs globally — including more than 20 in North America — in that time frame. She also reiterated GM’s target of selling more than 1 million EVs a year by 2025.
The company’s board of directors is recommending a vote against two shareholder proposals, including one that would peg executive compensation in part to greenhouse gas emissions targets.
(Reporting by Paul Lienert in Detroit; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
