MarketWatch: General Electric's Immelt forgoes bonus again & Watch List

General Electric's Immelt forgoes bonus again
General Electric Co. Chairman Jeff Immelt has opted not to take an annual cash bonus in 2009 for the second straight year as he aimed to steer the industrial conglomerate out of a deep recession.

However, other top executives at GE took home bonuses totaling more than $10 million.
In 2009, GE's earnings from continuing operations were $11.2 billion, down 38% from in 2008. Revenue dropped 14% to $156.8 billion. GE shares, one of the 30 Dow Jones Industrial Average components, fell 6.6% in 2009, compared to the roughly 19% gain for the Dow.
Total compensation for Immelt in 2009 was $9.885 million, up from $9.28 million in 2008, mostly due to the increase in the value of his pension and deferred compensation, GE explained Friday in its proxy statement.
The 54-year old Immelt earned a salary of $3.3 million and performance stock units valued at $1.79 million. His salary hasn't changed since 2005.

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General Electric plans to ramp up college hiring efforts this year. "We have decided to double our on-campus hiring in the 2010 recruitment cycle versus the previous year," GE CEO Jeff Immelt said in his annual letter to shareholders released Friday. Immelt didn't cite how many students GE hired last year or the number of graduates GE plans to offer jobs to in 2010.
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