Business

Show me the money: You won’t believe how much General Motors CEO Mary Barra made last year

The GM chief was the highest earner of the ‘Detroit three’ group of major automobile manufacturers.

Rebecca Cook

British journalist and translator who joined Diario AS in 2013. Focuses on soccer – chiefly the Premier League, LaLiga, the Champions League, the Liga MX and MLS. On occasion, also covers American sports, general news and entertainment. Fascinated by the language of sport – particularly the under-appreciated art of translating cliché-speak.

Update: Apr 13th, 2025 12:39 EDT

General Motors chief Mary Barra enjoyed a significant pay rise last year, benefiting from an overall compensation package worth nearly $30 million.

Appointed as the American automotive giant’s chair and CEO in 2013, Barra was the highest 2024 earner of the heads of the ‘Detroit three’ vehicle makers - GM, Ford and Chrysler’s parent company, Stellantis.

How much did Barra’s annual pay rise by?

In its executive compensation report for 2024, GM revealed this week that the 63-year-old’s pay rose by 5.9% on her 2023 earnings of $27.98 million, per The Detroit Free Press.

Barra’s total compensation hit $29.5 million, after a year in which GM - which owns the major automobile brands Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick and GMC - reported record operating profits of $14.9 billion.

The Detroit Free Press notes that Ford CEO Jim Farley netted just under $24.9 million in 2024, while Stellantis’s former CEO Carlos Tavares - who left the firm in December - was paid $24 million.

How does Barra’s 2024 compensation package break down?

On top of her basic salary of $2.1 million, Barra is reported to have received a $6.7 million performance-based bonus in 2024, plus stock awards of $19.5 million and $1.2 million in other payments.

Will GM chief’s pay go up or down in 2025?

According to The Detroit News’s Breana Noble, Barra picked up 95% of her total target compensation for 2024.

However, Noble warns that 2025 may not prove such a successful year for the GM chief, as profits are expected to be hit by a number of factors affecting the automotive industry. Notably, these factors include the “increased uncertainty prompted by fluctuating tariffs and trade policy under President Donald Trump”.

Trump, who took office as the 47th American president in January, has implemented a 25% tariff on vehicles arriving in the U.S. and is planning to levy 25% duties on imported automotive parts from early May.

“The most consequential year for the auto industry”

In calculations published by CNBC, the management consultancy firm Boston Consulting Group has forecast that GM, Ford and Stellantis will face a combined $41.9 million in additional production costs this year.

In addition, global vehicle sales are predicted to drop “in the millions”, according to BCG’s estimates.

“This may well be the most consequential year for the auto industry in history,” BCG’s Felix Stellmaszek told CNBC.

GM set to up Indiana manufacturing

Earlier this month, Reuters reported that GM - which imports from manufacturing bases in countries such as Mexico and Canada - plans to counteract the potential effects of Trump’s tariffs by shifting some foreign production to its factory in Fort Wayne, Indiana.