On Wednesday, March 11, Ford Motor Co. awarded CEO Alan Mulally 5 million shares in stock options, a benefit that will not show fruition for the executive until company stock substantially improves.

No calculated future value on the options has been reported and will not be until Ford files its next proxy statement on executive compensation. According to a company spokesman, Mark Truby, the potential value is less than the $7.5 million assigned to Mulally's 2008 stock options award of 3.5 million shares at the strike price of $6.14.

The strike price of the new award is $1.96. After a specified waiting period, Mulally can collect the difference if Ford's shares rise above that level. On Friday, Ford closed at $2.19, up 49 cents for the week.

Mulally has agreed to a pay cut of 30 percent for 2009 and 2010 as the automaker struggles against the current economic recession. Unlike its competitors at General Motors and Chrysler, however, Ford is operating without the benefit of federal loans.

Additionally, Mulally and other senior executives and global salaried employees have foregone performance bonuses that would have been paid in March 2010 for the 2009 year.

Ford has stated publicly that it does not foresee a return to a break-even or small profit position until some time in 2011.