GM's Wagoner to take $1 salary

GM's Wagoner to take $1 salary; eliminate corporate jets
David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON -- General Motors Corp. chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner will announce later today he is taking a $1-a-year salary, according to a more-than-30-page plan being sent to Congress, as the automaker is expected to report dramatically lower sales in November.

A person briefed on the plan said Wagoner had decided to accept the token salary as part of an effort to share the sacrifice. Wagoner already has seen his compensation cut in recent years and has not gotten a bonus in three of the last four years.

Wagoner had a $1.65 million salary in 2007 and has a $2.2 million salary this year. He took a 50 percent cut in pay in 2006, and his total compensation has been reduced sharply since he took the helm of GM in 2000

The plan will discuss GM's efforts to cut hourly costs, shrink its dealer network and cut or sell up to four brands. GM already announced it is selling Hummer, and it may say it will try to sell its Saab, Saturn and Pontiac brands.

Additionally, the company said today it is closing its aircraft operations at Detroit Metropolitan Airport and getting rid of its airplanes. "Due to significant cutbacks over the past months, GM travel volume no longer justifies a dedicated corporate aircraft operation," the company said in a statement.

GM will close its airport facility at Detroit Metro on Jan. 1 and try and transfer its aircraft to other companies. It also trying to sell four of the places so it can end the leases, the company said.....More