GE CEO’s pay falls 35% amid weak oil market

Bloomberg

General Electric Co. Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Immelt’s compensation fell 35 percent to $21.3 million last year, as an oil and gas slump suppressed demand for industrial equipment and the company’s shares underperformed the market.
Immelt, 61, received a $3.8 million salary last year, unchanged from 2015, according to a proxy statement from the Boston-based company Wednesday. His $5.94 million in cash awards, $2.14 million in stock options and $4.67 million in restricted and performance-linked shares were all down from the prior year. The weak oil and gas market, coupled with slow demand for locomotives, weighed on growth efforts last year after a sweeping transformation that tilted the company from finance and strengthened its manufacturing operations. GE returned 4.6 percent in 2016 including dividends, compared with 12 percent for the S&P 500 Index. The shares have continued to trail the index this year.
“Normally, we expect our diversified model to shrug off headwinds in one market and continue to achieve our goals,” Immelt wrote in a letter to shareholders dated Feb. 24. “In 2016, we simply couldn’t outrun pressure in the resource markets. Consequently, our compensation plans only paid out at 80% of target. This gives us more motivation for 2017.”
GE in October struck a deal to combine its oil and gas unit with Baker Hughes Inc., creating the world’s second-largest oilfield service provider and equipment maker.