Ford lost $8.2 billion in 2024. Jim Farley made $27.5 million. If that sentence doesn’t immediately strike you as somewhat surreal, you may have spent too long inside a corporate boardroom.
According to Ford’s 2026 proxy filing, Farley’s total compensation rose 11% year-over-year, from $24.9 million to $27.5 million, marking the highest pay package he’s received since taking the CEO role in 2020. His base salary stayed flat at $1.7 million, but his cash bonus more than doubled, jumping 2.5x to $5.75 million.
Ford reportedly exceeded its quality targets. This is the same Ford that has recalled nearly three times more vehicles than all other brands combined. Quality, apparently, is a relative concept.
The bonus calculus also factored in global EV volume hitting 121% of target, excluding China, which is a bit like winning a swimming race with the fastest lane roped off, while overall earnings targets landed at just 64% of goal. In other words, Ford hit the metrics that triggered the bonus and quietly ignored the ones that didn’t.
The rest of the package includes $18.9 million in stock awards, and $1.2 million in “other compensation”. A category that covers $737,504 for personal use of company aircraft and $384,896 for personal security.
Meanwhile, the ratio between Farley’s pay and the median Ford employee salary has widened from 253:1 to 295:1. The median worker earned $93,397 in 2025, up from $84,829 the year before, though still below the $98,273 recorded in 2023. The gap is growing.
The broader executive suite followed the same general pattern. Executive Chairman Bill Ford took home $20.3 million. CFO Sherry House earned $8.4 million. Newcomer Alicia Boler Davis, heading Ford Pro, pulled in just under $19 million in her first year. EV and design chief Doug Field collected $15.2 million, which raises its own questions given where Ford’s electric strategy currently stands.
Wall Street, for once, wasn’t buying it. Ford shares dropped nearly 2.5% on Friday as investors processed what it means when a company rewards its leadership generously for a year the company would probably prefer to forget.
