GM, Chrysler to offer some salaries workers bonuses as much as 50%

GM and Chrysler are going to be awarding some managers bonuses of as much as 50% of their salary. GM is going to be paying bonuses to most managers equal to 4% to 16% of their salaries, ranging up through 50%, to less than 1% of its 26,000 salaried US employees. GMs bonuses are based on company performance, and that of the individual.

The Big 3 are preparing for contract talks this year with the UAW, which is seeking their piece of the prosperity the industry has found as of late.

“The union is going to be very angry about this,” said Gary Chaison, a professor of industrial relations at Clark University in Worcester, Mass. “If these kinds of bonuses are paid to salaried workers, then the union’s demands will increase, knowing management can’t claim an inability to pay.”

“The taxpayers should be repaid before bonuses go out,” Senator Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican, said today in a statement. “Unfortunately, the Treasury Department never asserted ownership rights. It didn’t put the taxpayers first. As a result, the car companies are allowed to do what they want, including giving lots of executive bonuses. It sends a message that those in charge take shareholders, in this case the taxpayers, for a sucker. ”

All 3 manufacturers also plan to pay out bonuses to their hourly employees, with Ford paying an average of $5,000 each, GM paying over $3,000, and Chrysler paying and average of $750.

– By: Stephen Calogera

Source: Automotive News