In 2009, Zetsche earned ‘just’ €4.2 million, but his bonus soared last year from €689,000 to €4.8 million, as sales of Daimler's Mercedes-Benz autos rebounded worldwide. These bonuses are pegged to the automaker/s earnings before taxes (EBIT), which soured to €7.3 billion last year. Meanwhile, the net profit turned from a severe loss in 2009 to a profit of €4.7 billion.
In total, the six member of the managing board received €25 million, which is more than double the 2009 figure of €10 million.
It’s not just the top executives that are benefiting from the company’s recovery, as in January the Stuttgart-based car and heavy truck manufacturer stated workers would get bonuses of up to €1,000 to celebrate "the 125th anniversary of the invention of the automobile" by company founder Carl Benz. According to Yahoo News, they will also get pay increases of up to €3,150 that are linked to the 2010 results.
Just one year ago, the picture didn’t look as rosy, as between May 2009 and June 2010, directors took a 15 percent pay cut while workers accepted to become part-time employees in order to help with the company’s struggle.
Zetsche became a member of the DaimlerChrysler's Board of Management in 1998 and served the President and CEO of Chrysler Group from 2000 until 2005. He was an influential figure behind the de-merger of Daimler and Chrysler in 2007, that resulted in the formation of Daimler AG.
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