BOSTON (Reuters) - General Electric Co reduced Chief Executive Jeff Immelt's pay by 28 percent as the U.S. conglomerate's top executive asked for no bonus in light of the drop in GE's profits and stock price.
Immelt's 2008 compensation was valued at $14.1 million, down from $19.6 million, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The 53-year-old CEO said he had recommended to the board that he receive no bonus for 2008 and declined a payout under the company's long-term incentive plan.
"Given the circumstances, I recommended to the board that I not receive this payout," Immelt said in a statement posted to the company's GEReports.com Web site.
Shares of the world's largest maker of jet engines and electricity-producing turbines lost more than half their value last year -- and have continued to slide through the first weeks of 2009 -- as weakness at the company's GE Capital finance arm contributed to a 22 percent fall in profit.
Pay for four other top company officials -- including its chief financial officer, the heads of the GE Money and GE Technology Infrastructure unit and the former head of NBC Universal media -- rose, reflecting the payouts under the long-term incentive plan.
"It is important that the board and I have the freedom to compensate our senior executives in a fair and reasonable way," Immelt said in the statement.
GE shares rose 4 cents to $10.85 in pre-market trading, up from a $10.81 close on the New York Stock Exchange.
(Reporting by Scott Malone; Editing by Derek Caney and Steve Orlofsky)
