Oct. 21 (Bloomberg) -- The Obama administration will order seven companies that received the most government assistance to cut salaries of top executives by 90 percent on average, a person familiar with the situation said.

The Treasury Department’s announcement will come this week, the person said on condition of anonymity. Total compensation, including bonuses and other benefits, for the 25 highest-paid executives must be reduced by about 50 percent, the person said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Robert Schmidt in Washington at rschmidt5@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: October 21, 2009 15:11 EDT