Top DaimlerChrysler Executives Take 61% Pay Cut

Bloomberg News is reporting that DaimlerChrysler AG, the No. 5 carmaker, and Alcatel SA, Europe's largest maker of telecommunications equipment, slashed the pay of top executives as the two companies had record losses. DaimlerChrysler's Chief Executive Officer Juergen Schrempp and other managers took a 61 percent cut last year, lowering the average base pay of its 13 management board members to $1.5 million, or 1.7 million euros. Sales at the U.S. unit Chrysler fell, and costs for reorganizing the division reduced earnings by 3 billion euros.