CEO gets $1.3 million worth of General Motors shares

DETROIT (AP) -- General Motors Co. is rewarding its top executive with shares currently worth more than $1.3 million. In a filing Monday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, GM said it gave Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson 42,360 stock units on March 31 as part of his compensation package. Akerson will be paid in three installments starting next March. The stock units are now worth $1.37 million based on GM's current stock price, but Akerson will receive whatever they're worth on the actual day they're paid out. Akerson, a former telecommunications executive, became GM's CEO last fall and led the company through an initial public offering in November. He is expected to receive a pay package totaling $9 million for 2010, including $1.7 million in salary. Last week, the U.S. Treasury Department said Akerson's 2011 pay also will be capped at $9 million. The Treasury Department took a 61-percent share in GM in 2009 after loaning the company $49.5 billion during its bankruptcy reorganization. It trimmed that share to 26.5 percent in November, but can still set pay limits for companies that are still repaying their federal aid. GM also said Monday that Vice Chairman Stephen Girsky was awarded shares currently worth $828,406 under a compensation plan similar to Akerson's. GM's shares fell 2 cents to close at $32.39. Published: Wed, Apr 6, 2011