General Motors doesn’t have any corporate jets of its own following the 2008 bankruptcy restructuring, but that hasn’t stopped GM CEO Ed Whitacre from taking advantage of his AT&T retirement package that allows for limited air travel on AT&T’s own private jets. Given the fact that Whitacre calls San Antonio, Texas, his home, this perk has been particularly useful for the auto exec.
According to a report by Detroit News, GM’s CEO, Ed Whitacre, has been enjoying the fruits of his labor during his years at AT&T in the form of a lifelong perk that allows for up to 10 hours of flight time in an AT&T corporate jet each month – valued at $20,000.
Prior to 2008, any major executives working for GM would have enjoyed access to a small fleet of personal jets, but following the public backlash when the Detroit auto executives showed up in private jets to ask for public funds, the leased fleets have since been cut off and the executives – save for Whitacre – must find a way to get by with first-class seating in public airliners.
Given the strong negative stigma associated with companies taking government funds or bailouts, AT&T now finds itself in a unique position in which its own image could face harm due to the relationship with Whitacre. As the nation continues to face unemployment nearing 10 percent, the American public finds extravagant lifestyles and corporate perks to be less and less appropriate.
In speaking with the Detroit News, David Lewin, a professor at the Anderson School of Management at the University of California said that he believes the perk should be suspended as long as Whitacre is the acting CEO for GM. Lewin specializes in management and compensation and said, “It’s more than a perception problem. If I was an AT&T shareholder or executive, I’d put up a stink about this.”
Whitacre’s actions are not at odds with the beliefs of GM as a whole, as GM spokesman Chris Reuss told Detroit News, “If he’s using it to commute to and from San Antonio, I don’t know. How Ed chooses to get to and from San Antonio is the same as how I get to and from Northville. It’s my prerogative how I get to work and how he gets to work.”
Whitacre also enjoys $26,000 annual compensation for an automobile – for life – also paid by AT&T. Whitacre was chairman and chief executive of AT&T and its predecessor companies from 1990 until 2007.
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1. ‘GM CEO Whitacre flying on…’ view
2. ‘Former AT&T CEO Edward…’ view
