(WXYZ) — Some of Ford's top executives are deferring part or all of their salary during the COVID-19 outbreak.
7 Action News has learned Executive Chairman Bill Ford will defer all of his salary for at least five months.
On top of that, CEO Jim Hackett, COO Jim Farley and CFO Tim Stone will defer 50% of their salaries for five months as well.
In a letter to all employees, Hackett said that the top 300 Ford senior executives will defer 20 to 50 percent of their salaries beginning May 1.
"Our goal is to manage through the crisis without eliminating Ford jobs. Our people are dealing with enough challenges without being out of work, too. Plus, on the other side of the crisis, we will need our talented team to quickly ramp up to our full potential," Hackett said in the letter.
It's not clear how much they are making in 2020, but in the latest proxy filing with the SEC from 2019 – for 2018 – Bill Ford had an annual salary of $1.7 million while Hackett had an annual salary of $1.8 million. Their total compensation for 2018 was $13.8 million and $17.75 million respectively. Robert Shanks, who was the CFO in 2018, had an annual salary of $971,250.
The company announced on Thursday it was aiming to restart production at select North American plants by April 14. It says it aims to bring key plants back online while the company introduces additional safety measures to protect returning workers.
On April 14, Ford is planning to start building vehicles at Dearborn Truck Plant, along with Kentucky Truck Plant, Kansas City Assembly Plant's Transit line and Ohio Assembly Plant.
