Ford fired its CEO last year. But he still made more than the new guy.
Mark Fields lost his job in May, but he took home $23.5 million for those five months of 2017. Jim Hackett, the new CEO, was paid $16.7 million — for running Ford’s self-driving car business in the first half of the year and as CEO for the second half
Hackett got a $1 million bonus when he was named CEO, and his annual $1.8 million salary was roughly equal to Field’s pay rate the last two years. Prorated, Hackett took home $1.3 million in salary, and Fields got $1.1 million.
Part of the difference in pay between the two executives is that Fields got an $8.2 million exit package. Also, the value of Fields’ defined benefit pension plan grew $6 million. Newer executives like Hackett do not participate in that kind of pension plan. Fields had been with Ford for 28 years at the time of his departure.
Fields was fired partly because of Ford’s stock slump. Ford shares fell 37% over Fields’ tenure as CEO. Since Hackett took the job, shares have been essentially flat, rising only 2% in 10 months, and badly trailing much larger gains in the broader market.