U.S. Cuts GM Executive Pay

The U.S. Dept. of the Treasury has frozen the pay of the CEOs of General Motors Co. and two other bailed-out companies at last year's levels. The government also cut the average pay of 69 top executives of the three companies by an average of 10%.

Because GM, Ally Financial and American International Group have not yet fully repaid their debt to the Treasury Dept., they are subject to limits on compensation for senior managers. The government still owns a 26.5% stake in GM, which it has been reluctant to sell at a big loss.

Even with the freeze, GM CEO Dan Akerson will be eligible to receive about $9 million in salary and stock compensation this year. Akerson has said the company is eager to shed government ownership, in part because the pay caps make it harder to recruit top talent.