1.9 million euros without bonuses
Mercedes top manager earns 12.2 million euros
March 15, 2024, 10:21 p.m
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By achieving long-term goals, Ola Källenius, the CEO of Mercedes, is earning twice as much salary as the year before. This means that he sometimes receives three times as much as his colleagues on the board. The group itself recorded less profit compared to the previous year.
Mercedes boss Ola Källenius earned significantly more in 2023 than the year before, among other things because of a high long-term bonus. Excluding pension costs, his total remuneration last year was around 12.2 million euros – around 86 percent higher than in the same period last year, as can be seen from the Stuttgart group’s published remuneration report. In 2022 he earned around 6.6 million euros. According to a spokesman, Källenius wants to donate part of his salary to charitable organizations.
The remuneration was essentially divided into a fixed component of 1.9 million euros and a variable component of 10.4 million euros. Variable compensation depends, among other things, on the achievement of certain goals. Since last year, sustainability criteria have also been included. The significant jump is due, among other things, to the fact that the car manufacturer is now paying its top managers’ annual bonuses in full – and not staggered as was previously the case. In addition, in 2023, the board members benefited from longer-term compensation based on the share price.
CEO Källenius earned significantly more than his colleagues on the board, whose salaries were between 4.1 and 7.2 million euros. But their remuneration also increased significantly in 2023.
Mercedes generated sales of 153.2 billion euros last year – two percent more than the previous year. Nevertheless, the company felt increased costs, for example due to inflation and disruptions in the supply chain. Group operating profit fell by around four percent to 19.7 billion euros. The bottom line is that consolidated earnings fell by almost two percent to 14.5 billion euros.