GM's chief gets $9 million

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- General Motors chairman and chief executive, Ed Whitacre, Jr. will receive a compensation package worth $9 million, the automaker said Friday.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, GM said Whitacre gets $1.7 million in cash, $5.3 million in stock payable over three years starting in 2012, and $2 million in restricted stock as part of the company's long-term incentive plan.

GM said the package was approved by President Obama's Special Master for TARP Executive Compensation, a position held by Kenneth Feinberg, which is required by GM's Troubled Asset Relief Program agreement.

Whitacre became GM's permanent chief in January, after assuming the role of acting CEO on Dec. 1, following Fritz Henderson's resignation after just a few months on the job.

GM also said in Friday's SEC filing that Henderson will sign on as a consultant to the automaker for $59,090 a month plus expenses, for 20 hours of work per month through 2010.

GM owes the U.S. Treasury a total of $6.7 billion provided from TARP. The automaker also owes $1.4 billion in payments to the governments of Canada and the Canadian province of Ontario. Any major executive compensation must be cleared through Feinberg's office.

In December, Whitacre said GM would pay off its TARP loan by June, well ahead of deadline. Overall, GM has received $50 billion in federal money, with the government receiving $2 billion in preferred stock and 61% of the automaker's privately held common shares in return for the rest of the money.