Close enough, lookout?

If you care you've probably already seen this, but here is the link to the NY Times article with the resignation letter from an AIG executive.

Resignation

Heh. That is crazy.

I'm shocked - not.

Jake DeSantis is angry because he and his cow orkers are being punished when they were not the ones that caused AIG's demise. I'm not so sure the people in the unemployment lines will have much pity for Jake DeSantis, as I doubt many of them feel they are the cause of their former employers problems. When the ship goes down, everybody gets wet.

So now the baby gets thrown out with the bathwater. Brilliant!
:rolleyes:

I wonder if all this outrage would have been as bad if the term used was "retention payment" instead of bonus." Would the public perception have been any different?

I seriously doubt DeSantis will land in an unemployment line but I hear what you are saying Bruce. From my perspective he doesn't sound angry at being punished for AIG's demise. THe company was to be split up and sold off - he and others stayed on to do that. Retention bonuses are the only way to get people to stick around and do the work when they know the end is near and their peers are out grabbing jobs. I think he is angry because he did his job expecting to get an agreed upon sum of money when the job was finished. Payday rolls around and not only does he hear he shouldn't be paid, he and his colleagues are villified and subject to abuse. I can understand his anger.

Political insanity. I completely understand the contracts and how DeSantis and other executives feel but what were they expecting? Every small business in the United States is cutting as many costs as possible and they would expect large businesses to do the same and from a public viewpoint, it doesn't seem that AIG is doing that.

They eliminated his whole business unit, which was profitable, to cut overall costs and raise money to keep the larger company running. Big companies like that don't have all their executives sitting in one building making decisions together. Top executives in one business unit may never even meet execs from another.

The bonuses became a political tool. He and his colleagues are pissed they are catching the shit for something they had nothing to do with.

Yes, but from the public viewpoint they seem to not be attempting to cut costs. I'm not saying that DeSantis didn't get screwed over or could/should have prevented this, just that you cannot be surprised to take flak when your company is being bailed out by the taxpayers and you get a large bonus. DeSantis will be fine. He can get other jobs. My old neighbor only has the option to hold onto his small business until it goes bankrupt. He may not be.

Maybe I am naive, but if I was running a struggling business, I would keep the profitable units and close down the unprofitable ones.
I just don't "get" business, sometimes.

Fuck DeSantis. The little bitch quits because he got his feelings hurt?

:biglaugha

No big loss.

They are an insurance company which means they must maintain a hefty cash reserve ratio. When things went down the shitter they had to raise capital quickly. Which do you think would be easier to get good value from, profitable business unit or one overflowing with toxic assets?

I'm not saying it makes sense but that is the way it is sometimes.

PH, the only difference between DeSantis and your neighbor is that you know your neighbor and he doesn't happen to be a much maligned industry at the moment. They're still two people trying to do their job regardless of their salary structure.

TGRR... let me guess, you've gone through life talking a lot shit but accomplishing little, right?