FRANKFURT (AP) -- Daimler AG chief executive Dieter Zetsche and his fellow managers had their pay for 2008 drop by about half from the previous year as bonuses fell along with earnings, the company said in its annual report Friday.
Daimler said Zetsche will receive a total of euro4.8 million ($6 million) for 2008, a 51 percent reduction from the euro9.8 million he earned in 2007.
All together, the six members of the Stuttgart-based automaker's management board will receive a total of nearly euro15 million, a 46 percent reduction from the euro28 million they earned in 2007.
The company said its annual bonus is primarily based on earnings before interest and taxes, or operating profit, as well as earnings per share and individual performance.
Earlier this month, Daimler reported a 4 percent decline in 2008 sales and 65 percent decline in net profit, as world automotive markets waned in the global economic crisis.
The company said chief financial officer Bodo Uebber was getting euro2.2 million for 2008, 46 percent less than the previous year's euro4.1 million. Andreas Renschler, the director of the Daimler Trucks division, will receive euro2 million -- 47 percent below the euro3.8 million he earned in 2007.
Shares of Daimler were down 5 percent at euro17.95 in Frankfurt afternoon trading.