Chrysler's CEO Received No Salary Last Year
Chrysler Group LLC Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne received no salary for running the Auburn Hills, Mich., auto maker last year despite his work to revive the auto maker.
Mr. Marchionne, who is also CEO of Fiat SpA, did receive shares worth $600,000 as a Chrysler director. This is the first time Mr. Marchionne's decision not to receive a salary has been made public since he took over the day-to-day operations of Chrysler in June 2009, reported The Wall Street Journal.
The disclosure was part of a lengthy document Chrysler filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday. The filing, said spokeswoman Shawn Morgan, fulfills the company's goal of providing more transparency although Chrysler is a private company.
Mr. Marchionne has said he hopes to take Chrysler public in the second half of this year. The filing was unrelated to any IPO, Ms. Morgan said. The company reported a 2010 loss of $652 million on revenue of $41.95 billion.
Chrysler's fleet sales grew to 36% of the auto maker's overall U.S. sales compared with 30% in 2006, the filing disclosed. Wall Street analysts have criticized the auto maker's reliance on selling vehicles to fleet operators, such as rental car companies, since those sales dilute the brand name. Chrysler has vowed to reduce fleet sales this year and return to the industry norms of about 25%.
Chrysler's U.S. market share finished at 9.2% in 2010 compared with 12.6% in 2007.
The auto maker also said its total employment in 2010 rose to 51,623 salaried and hourly employees compared with 47,326 in 2009. Mr. Marchionne added shifts and employees at Chrysler plants throughout last year as the auto maker upgraded and launched 16 models.
As part of those model introductions, Chrysler invested $155 million to upgrade its plants with new equipment.
Mr. Marchionne intends to introduce the Alfa Romeo brand in Mexico this year followed by the U.S. in 2012. As chief executive of Fiat, Mr. Marchionne earned $4.8 million last year.
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