Tavares’s total compensation last year compared to the €23.46 million he was awarded for 2022.

Tavares received €23.47 million in cash and vested equity in 2023, including a €10 million transformation incentive to meet milestones tied to challenges the auto industry is facing on global mobility, technology and the electrification of vehicles.

Stellantis said it led the industry in financial performance in the first half of 2023 and added since the company’s inception in 2021, its share price has outperformed the automotive industry and the S&P 500 by a significant margin.

During last year’s talks with the Detroit Three automakers the United Auto Workers union harshly criticised the pay of the General Motors, Ford Motor and Stellantis CEOs in making the case for significant wage hikes for hourly workers.

Ford and GM have not yet disclosed CEO pay for 2023. In 2022, GM CEO Mary Barra had US$29 million in total compensation and Ford CEO Jim Farley received nearly US$21 million.

After targeted strikes at the three automakers, the UAW’s deals with them included an immediate 11% pay hike and 25% increase in base wages through 2028, a reduction in time needed to reach top pay to three years from eight. They are also boosting the pay of temporary workers by 150% and making them permanent.

Stellantis said its average employee earned €70,404 in 2023, up 9.4% from €64,328 in 2022. The ratio last year of Tavares’s total compensation to the average employee was €518, up significantly over 2022.

Stellantis said that higher ratio was because of the impact of a one-time, long-term 2021-2025 incentive.

Stellantis said its workforce worldwide fell 5.2% in 2023 to just over 258,000, with its North American workforce dropping from 88,835 in 2022 to 81,341 employees last year.