Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn and Chairman of the supervisory board of Volkswagen Ferdinand Piech on a visit to the plant in Wolfsburg on February 9, 2017 (AFP / Odd Andersen)
Volkswagen AG slashed compensation of senior executives by 37 percent last year as the German automaker reacted to criticism of past generous pay packages in the wake of the diesel-cheating scandal.
Remuneration for management-board members dropped to €39.5m ($42 m) from €63.2m in 2015, according to the Wolfsburg-based company’s annual report published yesterday. Last year’s compensation would have been even lower if not for a €10m-payout to legal-affairs chief Christine Hohmann-Dennhardt, who is leaving after just a year on the job following clashes with other executives.
Chief Executive Officer Matthias Mueller’s wages, benefits and bonuses jumped 52 percent to €7.25m euros in 2016, his first full year on the job, from €4.76m in 2015, when he served in the role for just a few months following predecessor Martin Winterkorn’s sudden departure.
Volkswagen revised its compensation system last month to gear it more toward share performance than the carmaker’s results.
The changes cap the CEO’s remuneration at €10m and limit compensation for other management-board members.
