ABC News- The CEOs of the big three automakers flew to the nation’s capital yesterday in private luxurious jets to make their case to Washington that the auto industry is running out of cash and needs $25 billion in taxpayer money to avoid bankruptcy. The CEOs of GM, Ford and Chrysler may have told Congress that they will likely go out of business without a bailout yet that has not stopped them from traveling in style, not even First Class is good enough.
All three CEOs – Rick Wagoner of GM, Alan Mulally of Ford, and Robert Nardelli of Chrysler – exercised their perks Tuesday by flying in corporate jets to DC. Wagoner flew in GM’s $36 million luxury aircraft to tell members of Congress that the company is burning through cash, asking for $10-12 billion for GM alone. “We want to continue the vital role we’ve played for Americans for the past 100 years, but we can’t do it alone,” Wagoner told the Senate Banking Committee.While Wagoner testified, his G4 private jet was parked at Dulles airport. It is just one of a fleet of luxury jets owned by GM that continues to ferry executives around the world despite the company’s dire financial straits. “This is a slap in the face of taxpayers,” said Tom Schatz, President of Citizens Against Government Waste. “To come to Washington on a corporate jet, and asking for a hand out is outrageous.”
Wagoner’s private jet trip to Washington cost his ailing company an estimated $20,000 roundtrip. In comparison, seats on Northwest Airlines flight 2364 from Detroit to Washington were going online for $288 coach and $837 first class.
After the hearing, Wagoner declined to answer questions about his travel.
Ford CEO Mulally’s corporate jet is a perk included for both he and his wife as part of his employment contract along with a $28 million salary last year. Mulally actually lives in Seattle, not Detroit. The company jet takes him home and back on weekends. Mulally made his case Tuesday before the committee saying he’s cut expenses, laid-off workers and closed 17 plants.
“We have also reduced our work force by 51,000 employees in the past three years,” Mulally said.
Yet Ford continues to operate a fleet of eight private jets for its executives. Just Tuesday, one jet was taking Ford brass to Los Angeles, another on a trip to Nebraska, and of course Mulally needed to fly to Washington to testify. He did not address questions following the hearing.
“Now’s not the time to do that sort of thing,” said John McElroy of the television program “Autoline Detroit.” “Now’s the time to be humble and show that you’re sharing equally in the sacrifice,” McElroy said.
GM and Ford say that it is a corporate decision to have their CEOs fly on private jets and that is non-negotiable, even as the companies say they are running out of cash.
I can hear the apologists already.
This is a BS story plain and simple.
First from a security stand point these guys aren’t going to be flying comercial. All three have between 3-4 security people with them at all times when they are in public. If they fly comercial, there will be no one else in first class with them so what does that cost?
Second these people have staffs. Typically they have 1-3 staff people with them when they travel.
So lets say that each of these guys has five others with them, so six tickets at a minimum. Now what is their time worth? With all the delays in comercial travel, is the best use of their time sitting around in an airport?
OK everyone pile on, but if you have ever delt with the reality of upper level management in a company that does over $200M in business, you’ll get it. Everyone else can just get all in a huff about this Jerry Springer worth bit.
#1. 1st apologist up, that didn’t take long…Har. Lets not forget that Joe Biden still rides a train to work, well probably not now.
Fuck you slaves. Pay up!
“but if you have ever delt with the reality of upper level management in a company that does over $200M in business, you’ll get it.”
I have traveled with upper level mngmnt of a Fortune 100 company and they don’t empty 1st class if they go commercial.”
Hey, what happened to the AA capabilities around D.C.?
Bill Gates still flies commercial.
take this 25 Billion and shove it up your A**!
If it’s the plane ride that stops the bailout so be it. Really, a 20k plane ride is nothing compared to a company bleeding tens of billions.
If this is bad spending now, then it’s bad spending when they have the money too.
#1 Shut it, your digging them a bigger hole. Now not only are they too elitist to fly a normal plane in this time of huge financial tragedy, but they are also too lazy to do work with their 1-3 assistants, and way too paranoid with their 1-3 security guards! Why do they need security anyway? I have watched at least 30mis of these guys faces, and could not pick them out of a line up.
Did anyone asked how bonuses will look this year?
Did upper management cut their pay?
Did UAW offer any payroll reduction plan in effort to save their own @$$ ?
…..
I did not think so – Well then DIE already.
#1 Eric – They should have driven their cars.
They are automotive moguls you know.
#1, Eric;
You know, that’s fine and dandy if you have a company making money hand over fist (like Apple). In that case, I don’t really care what they do with their money.
But in this case, if the companies are hemorrhaging money and are begging for TAXPAYER MONEY to save their ass, then I have a major issue with them wasting money and otherwise showing more of the same inflexible and unimaginative thinking that got them in to this mess in the first place.
Forget the $20K waste, shouldn’t they be selling the jets?
I doubt many people have any clue who these big shots are or look like. Flying commercial air isn’t likely to even attract much attention other than the huge entourage in tow.
You guys will all just LOVE it when China buys the big three and shuts down all US production and then Toyota, Honda, etc. follow suit and abandon the US for assembly plants, resulting in 6 million lost, good paying jobs.
Kiss the USA goodbye.
#1 – Eric,
Bloomberg manages to survive the NYC subway every day.
Further, by what right do these guys require protection? They’re not leaders of our nation. They’re corporate employees. And, they’re incapable of performing well in their jobs.
Perhaps they do not deserve a staff. Perhaps they do not deserve a company paid sandwich for lunch. They are not qualified to do anything but beg. So, why treat them like royalty?
@12 nails it, IMHO
Any bailout money should be contingent on these asshoe’s and their antiquated ways exiting the corporate board room ASAP. The problem with the auto industry can be observed in the bathroom mirror of these CEO bigwigs every morning.
He probably had more then 20 people traveling with him. None of those guys do anything with less then 14 people behind them. Think about his personal staff, attorneys, pr people, and security. There was hardly any difference in price if you calculate everyone who went.
“Ford CEO Mulally actually lives in Seattle, not Detroit. The company jet takes him home and back on weekends.”
So the guy doesn’t even live in the same city where his cars are built – it shows just how out of touch he is.
It must be horrible for him, having to layoff workers and close 17 plants, and all he has to console him is his trophy wife and a measly $28 million dollars a year.
You know a person makes TO MUCH MONEY, when they dont CARE what the cost of ANYTHING IS’.
they just SPEND IT, and dont give a DARN.
Wow.
These CEOs could also save a lot of money if they lived in an apartment on 8-Mile Road, or maybe if they built a small executive condo in the middle of the proving grounds. And if they ate at McDonald’s every day for lunch…cripes, what this flight costs isn’t even a rounding error on the daily operating expenses of a company like GM.
Oh, and most of us wouldn’t know the CEOs from the standard-issue sales guy in any airport, but these guys can’t be alone at Detroit Metro.
The board members should be ashamed of themselves. Americans should also be ashamed of themselves for accepting and perpetuating this behavior by buying American cars.
Oh wait, isn’t that what this is all about,… these companies are not selling enough cars. Hmmm, maybe most people are doing their part by not rewarding this behavior.
The fact that American-made cars for the most part SUCK is beside the point here. Consumers have a responsibility to vote their approval of a company with their wallets. When consumers are being responsible then the system works. If these companies can get the government to subsidize them or bail them out, the system DOES NOT work.
These car companies do not deserve a bailout, period.
Just wait until the Chinese own all of the “big three”. Things are changing…
Idiots. They could fly coach like the rest of us slaves. Arrogant management, arrogant unions, screw all of them. Toyota makes full size trucks too.
Mulally lives in Seattle? That’s just not right. But wait! There’s more! From MarketWatch:
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Ford Motor Co., in the middle of a wrenching restructuring that already has led to plant shutdowns and thousands of job cuts, said Friday that it will pay its new chief executive a 2 million base salary as well as an $18.5 million bonus.
Alan Mulally also will receive 4 million stock options priced at the grant date’s current fair-market value of $8.28 along with 600,000 restricted stock units, according to the regulatory filing.
Mulally also has the option to live in temporary housing in Southeast Michigan for the first two years and is eligble for relocation assistance. He will be required, for security reasons, to use the company aircraft for travel. On personal business trips, he’s allowed to bring friends and family at Ford’s expense.
I want that guy’s job.
Fine. I don’t want Congress spending another day wasting time and fussing over these guys form of transportation.
I want answers and solutions now and no more public undressing of these executives. Quit wasting time with this bullshit.
*shrug* Their boards decided they were worth the money for the job, so suck it up and live with it you pansies. They negotiated a pretty sweet deal and guess what, they can be fired if they aren’t doing their jobs. They also will be fired if they go into bankruptcy, which is the next step anyway.
I don’t see the UAW saying it will take a pay cut to save the companies a few billion — in fact they just said they don’t give a crap that it’s the American consumer’s fault and nothing to do with them.
So I’d say, if anything, it’s the whole corporate culture of those companies, and they all should just go bankrupt already so we can get cheaper and more fuel-efficient cars.
The drop in steel/scrap and other prices hasn’t pushed through the economy yet, so they are whining before their supplier prices start dropping. Not getting any better anytime soon, except for the lawyers.
Let them go tits up.
I don’t know what all the fuss is about. I’m a BIG man and I like my space on a plane. The food would be better in a private jet, too.
Check to see if any of the CEOs have bigger dicks too.
IF Congress does pass a bailout they are fully able to take away all the toys and put whatever conditions on the package they wish.