P.M. BRIEFING : Iacocca Got $4 Million in Salary, Stock, Bonuses, Chrysler Says

Chrysler Corp. Chairman Lee A. Iacocca was awarded nearly $4 million in 1989 salary and stock and in bonuses earned the year before, the company’s proxy statement said today.

The amount Iacocca received topped the $2.5 million received by General Motors Corp. Chairman Roger B. Smith, but fell behind the $6.6 million awarded to Ford Motor Co. Chairman Donald E. Petersen, who retired March 1.

Iacocca was awarded $3.7 million in salary, bonuses and stock for 1988.

Chrysler executives received no cash bonuses for 1989 because of an agreement with the United Auto Workers union that when the auto maker doesn’t make enough money in a year to grant profit-sharing checks to union members, executives get no cash bonuses.

The nation’s No. 3 auto maker reported 1989 earnings of $359 million, far below the $4.2 billion and $3.8 billion reported by GM and Ford, respectively. Last month, GM distributed profit-sharing checks of about $50 each to its eligible employees and Ford handed out checks of about $1,025 each.

The UAW, which has called the GM and Ford executives’ compensation levels for 1989 a “disease,” had no immediate comment on today’s Chrysler proxy statement.