Tuesday, March 15, 2005

Bill Ford gets $18 million payday

$3 million of the reward for the automaker's profit jump will go to charities, scholarships.

By Ed Garsten / The Detroit News

Charles V. Tines / The Detroit News Bill Ford Jr., 47, the great-grandson of founder Henry Ford, has not accepted a salary since becoming CEO in 2001. Comment on this story Send this story to a friend Get Home Delivery

DEARBORN -- Ford Motor Co. awarded Chairman and CEO Bill Ford Jr. about $18 million worth of restricted stock, stock equivalents and stock options.

The company said the compensation includes $3 million in restricted stock equivalents and $7.5 million in restricted stock for his 2004 performance. Bill Ford also will receive 1.69 million options in company stock with a grant value of $7.5 million for future performance.

In an e-mail to employees Monday, Bill Ford said he would donate $1.5 million to a scholarship fund for children of Ford employees and another $1.5 million to local charities. The donation comes in addition to the $1.5 million he committed last year to the scholarship fund.

"Funding scholarships for employee's children seems appropriate since in the end, my performance is really a measure of your efforts," Ford wrote in the e-mail.

The automaker's 2004 profits jumped to $3.49 billon from $495 million in 2003. Bill Ford launched a turnaround effort after becoming CEO in October 2001 and has cut jobs, shuttered factories and eliminated poor-selling models.

"The revitalization is a mixed picture," said Burnham Securities analyst David Healy. "Ford achieved cost-cutting targets and the company is back in the black, but the new product offensive has not turned around declining market share."

Bill Ford, 47, the great-grandson of founder Henry Ford, did not accept a salary nor was he awarded a cash bonus for 2004, Ford spokesman Oscar Suris said. Bill Ford has not accepted a salary since becoming CEO in 2001.

Ford president Jim Padilla received a 2004 stock-based bonus worth $4 million and $2.8 million worth of stock options. Padilla's salary and other cash compensation will be disclosed next month in the company's proxy statement.