Bill Ford agrees to personal salary cuts

Ford’s executive chairman Bill Ford (pictured) has voluntarily agreed to forgo his entire cash compensation this year and will take a 30%  cut in his salary over the next two years according to US media reports.

The news, revealed in an internal company memo, comes as the family-controlled motor company struggles to operate through the current deep economic downturn without accessing government loans.

Ford, great-grandson of company founder Henry, is understood not to have taken any compensation since 2005 and will continue to do so until the company returns to profitability. Non-family CEO Alan Mulally and the rest of the board of directors have also agreed to the cuts.

"We know these are challenging times and we all are affected by the tough actions we are taking," Ford and Mulally are reported to have written in the memo. "However, these are necessary actions to help us emerge as an even stronger, profitably growing Ford Motor Company for the benefit of us all."

The company unveiled a business plan last December, which outlined its plan to return to pre-tax profitability by 2011. Part of the plan includes the introduction of more fuel-efficient vehicles, a move championed by Bill Ford.

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