- Jim Farley received a base salary of $1.7 million, along with $20.3 million in stock awards and $2.4 million in incentive plan compensation.
- That’s a significant raise of 26% compared to his $21 million compensation in 2022.
- Yet he still makes less than many other automotive CEOs in the industry.
In a move that surprises absolutely no one, Ford CEO Jim Farley received a substantial raise in 2023, boosting his total compensation from the automaker to $26,470,033. That’s approximately $5 million more or a 26 percent increase compared to 2022.
While Ford credited Farley with several victories over the fiscal year, UAW President Shawn Fain couldn’t help but scoff, stating that, “This is corporate greed, pure and simple”.
The compensation data comes from Ford’s annual shareholder meeting notice statement. There, it details that Farley’s base salary stands at $1.7 million, as it has been since 2021, with the remainder comprising approximately $20.3 million in stock awards, about $2.4 million in incentive plan compensation, and other benefits.
Interestingly, the stock awards are based on estimates of future payouts. Ford justified that pay package by citing Farley’s accomplishments over the last year.
Specifically, the Blue Oval pointed out that Farley led the company to another profitable year, turned around Ford’s international operations, reached a deal with the UAW and Unifor in Canada, and drove improved cost and quality. Overall, Ford saw an 11 percent jump in revenue to $176 billion during 2023. Not everyone believes that Farley should be making so much though. Shawn Fain, the president of the UAW was very critical.
“Just a few weeks ago Farley was crying to the press about how the UAW’s record contracts were forcing the company to rethink where they build their vehicles, but now they have no problem finding the money to give him a 26 percent pay raise to $26.5 million a year,” Fain said in a UAW statement. “Let’s be clear: this is corporate greed, plain and simple.”
Notably, the median compensation for all Ford employees aside from Farley is $84,829 which represents a substantial jump from $74,691 in 2022. Ford didn’t release the average salary at the company. In short, Farley makes 312 times what the average Ford employee does.
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Farley also incurred expenses of $611,174 for personal aircraft use, while Bill Ford, the company’s executive chair of the company, spent $732,943 for personal aircraft use and $1,244,098 for security measures. It should be pointed out though that for safety reasons, that both the CEO and executive chair are prohibited from commercial air travel for safety reasons.
Amazingly, Farley’s total compensation is dramatically less than that of Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares who made some $40 million or about 518 times the average employee, and likely less than that of GM CEO Mary Barra who raked in $29 million during 2022 according to Freep. Bill Ford, the executive chair of the brand made $20.6 million last year.
