General Electric (NYSE: GE) said Monday it took the step last year of eliminating bonuses for its senior managers for the first time in its 126-year history, saving millions of dollars after losing money in 2017.
All but one of its top executives did not receive a bonus, the company said.
The changes led to steep declines in compensation and reflected the company's poor results in 2017, according to the company's annual proxy.
Former CEO Jeff Immelt, who stepped down on Aug. 1, received $8.1 million in 2017, down from $21.3 million the year before. Compensation includes salary, bonus, stock, options and other income. GE eliminated Immelt's 2017 target bonus of $5.4 million and cut about $1 million from his salary.
Current Chief Executive John Flannery earned $9 million in salary and other compensation last year. The company eliminated a $3 million target bonus for him.
GE also said in the proxy it was not changing compensation for board members, other than to add a $30,000 annual payment for members of the
new finance committee.
Directors receive $275,000 a year, and additional amounts depending on their committee assignments, the company said.
"We are holding leaders accountable for performance," GE said in the proxy, noting operating profit fell 11% and that the amount in its bonus pool fell 75%. GE reported a net loss of 72 cents a share last year.
Shares in the company founded by Thomas Edison gave back 46 cents early Tuesday to $14.64, within a 52-week range of $13.95 to $30.54.
