This Tuesday, April 16, 2024, the shareholders of Stellantis will meet in a general meeting in Amsterdam in the Netherlands where the headquarters of the automobile company is based. They will give their opinion on the remuneration of Carlos Tavares, general director of the industrial giant, which is once again causing controversy. A vote which will not be binding, but closely scrutinized. We’ll explain it to you.
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How much does the boss of Stellantis earn each day?
36.5 million euros, or 100,000 euros per day. This is the total amount that the boss of the fourth largest automobile group in the world could receive for the year 2023. Which would represent an increase of 56% compared to 2022. The Stellantis unions, particularly those at the Sochaux factory in Doubs, denounced the announcement of these figures as indecent, stratospheric remuneration..
The increase in the 2023 remuneration of the boss of the powerful automobile group is notably linked to the payment of a bonus of ten million euros for the “transformation” of the group created in 2021 with the merger of PSA and Fiat-Chrysler.
The work income of Carlos Tavares, aged 65, is made up of several elements including retirement pensions which will be paid over the long term, but also bonuses awarded if he meets the objectives set for 2025 , last year of his current mandate at the head of the manufacturer. For the 2023 financial year, Carlos Tavares will initially receive 23.5 million euros. Paid largely in shares, this remuneration also increases with the value of the group’s stock, which has almost doubled over the past three years.
Why has Carlos Tavares’ compensation been debated in recent years?
In the group’s factories, employees of course comment on this extraordinary remuneration in their opinion. The Stellantis group is doing well. Alright. With its 14 brands including Peugeot, Citroën, Fiat, Dodge and Opel, Stellantis published on February 15, 2024 a new record profit of 18.6 billion euros for 2023, up 11% year-on-year. Its turnover is approaching 190 billion euros. Stellantis shareholders have already expressed some reservations about the money received by the number 1 of the group. They had rejected Carlos Tavares’ remuneration for the 2021 financial year before validating it for 2022 at almost 80%.
In 2022, it’s the turn of the French president Emmanuel Macron, to judge the “astronomical” amount of Carlos Tavares’ remuneration “shocking and excessive”.
This time, several investor advisory firms are recommending voting against Tavares’ compensation this year, including the American agency Glass Lewis.
We believe that significant increases in target CEO compensation in the context of mass layoffs may result in a disparity between executive compensation and the experience of stakeholders (customers, suppliers, shareholders, employees, banks, Editor’s note).
underlines the agency in a note that Agence France Presse was able to consult
Can the shareholder vote move the lines?
Unlike what would have happened if Stellantis’ head office were located in France, the shareholder vote which is being held this Tuesday, April 16, will be purely consultative, the company being under Dutch law. But the vote will be closely scrutinized. The AGM will take place in Amsterdam from 2:00 p.m. It will be broadcast on the Stellantis website.
How does Carlos Tavares defend himself?
Traveling on Monday April 15 to the Trémery factory in Moselle, Carlos Tavares assumed his remuneration, “a contractual dimension between the company and me as for a football player and a Formula 1 driver”.
90% of my salary is made by the company’s results, (…) so this proves that the company’s results are apparently not too bad…If you think that this is not acceptable, make a law and change the law and I will respect it.
Carlos Tavares,
at the microphone of France Bleu Lorraine Nord
The group believes that the remuneration of its manager must also be compared with that of other multinationals such as Boeing in the United States where Dave Calhoun receives $33 million for 2023.