GE CEO Jeff Immelt may need to downgrade his first-class train tickets.

The GE chief executive will not receive an $11.7 million bonus for calendar year 2008. While he still received his $3.3 million annual salary, the loss of his bonus means that he received 64 percent less cash compensation in 2008 compared to 2007.

How does that reduction correspond to the drop in GE’s stock price over the same period?

Surprisingly well: GE’s stock price dropped by more than 56 percent in 2008. This Forbes article presents a quick analysis of the context in which GE’s board, at Immelt’s urging, opted to trim its CEO’s compensation. ###