"Former GM boss gets $8.6m pension" - bbc.

[demoleft]

"Former General Motors (GM) boss Rick Wagoner will officially retire in August with a pension worth $8.6m (£5.3m) over the first five years.

Mr Wagoner is standing down after he was ousted from the jobs of chairman and chief executive in March as part of the government rescue of GM.
...
Last week, GM emerged from bankruptcy protection as a smaller company."
(source: bbc, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8151015.stm )

well, not bad. he won't have problems to reach the 4th week every month, i suppose.

here in italy we've had even public companies managers leaving their office with really golden retirement bonus, while the companies had been sinking in red figures during their management.(eg: alitalia and FS, that is national railways)

former FS manager left in 2004 with €6.500.000
former alitalia manager left in 2004 with €1.364.000

u do the maths in US dollars - and consider that they are public money.

strange rules, this western market that calls itself liberal. it happens that when u're not successful, or positively make a mess, u're rewarded just the same.
a pity it happens only at top-management level - and never on the opposite side of the piramid.

ciao DUers.

[Hannah Bell]

1. nice he has no retirement worries, unlike gm workers. how long was he there?

on edit: not so bad as i thought: he started with gm in the 70s.

[demoleft]

2. yes, no retirement worries for him. it's a lot of money.

the shipwreck is not proportioned for all the ship members, so to speak.
some come out of it as if from a pleasant cruise.

[Kolesar]

3. I don't understand why the Obama government fired Wagoner

It seemed like a publicity gimmick to me.

p.s.: what does your Lorca quote say?

[demoleft]

4. it means: "if i die, leave the balcony window open"

"If I die,
leave the balcony open.

The little boy is eating oranges.
(From my balcony I can see him.)

The reaper is harvesting the wheat.
(From my balcony I can hear him.)

If I die,
leave the balcony open!"

(f.g.lorca)

:hi:

[Kolesar]

5. I remember Federico Lorca from lyrics by the Clash

"London Calling-Spanish Bombs", 1980. There was an excellent show about Barcelona, Miro, Dali, and the Spanish "Civil War" at the Cleveland Museum of Art that explained Lorca's story. It also played in NY City, IIRC.

I would like to write more, but I have to start my commute...

[Heidi]

9. This is a beautiful poem.

And I love Leonard Cohen's "Take This Waltz," based on Lorca's "Little Viennese Waltz." :hi:

http://www.webheights.net/speakingcohen/waltz.htm

[demoleft]

13. thanx for the link my dear!

:hi:

[Heidi]

16. !

Song starts at 1:02. :hi:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdkIW7V8Y0w

[demoleft]

17. what a human, deep, thick, life-drenched voice speaks it...

...it's washed in passions, mixed up with (broken) dreams, plunged into pure love for naked simple humanity.
nice one. thanx! ;)

(right now i'm listening to the Rach. 2 - a good blend for a passionate nature)

ciao!

[liberal N proud]

6. And what do the people who worked there 30 years get?

[ProfessorGAC]

7. A Bit Less

If a bit is measured on an astronomic scale.

I'm guessing the pension they walk away with is no more than 10% of that. And, after the market crash, probably half of that.
GAC

[liberal N proud]

8. And a tube of KY

Or maybe not.

[ProfessorGAC]

11. LOL! Probably Not!

Good one.
GAC

[liberal N proud]

12. Personal experience

Worked 25 years and found out last week they are freezing our pension. No more contribution, the funds will not earn any interest and we cannot access them until we retire.

Thank you may I have another!

[AndyA]

10. Rewarding bad behavior, poor judgement, and poor job performance.

And we wonder why things are so fucked up.

What's wrong with firing someone because they ran a company into the ground? I'm pretty sure Wagoner's job description didn't include the requirement that he "ignore market trends, build cars that look like everything else the other division's are building, kill off at least one division, and bankrupt the company by 2009." :eyes:

Companies that do this deserve to go out of business. They are rewarding someone for harming the company, its employees, and its stockholders. Who in the hell would want to retain an employee that does such a poor job?

He should have been escorted to the door by security, his personal items thrown in a box and tossed out on the front walk with his sorry ass. It's better than he deserves.

[demoleft]

15. that's what upsets me indeed. rewarding independently from performance.

the cases i quoted about italy scream out loud the unjustice of this sick logic.

the GM matter is different.
but market has (should have) its rules - and one of the classic rules is that when you fail to lead a company you cannot be rewarded.
but top-managers always get away with full pockets, whatever the performance.

the crumbs to the workers. if any crumbs left.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

14. 172 $50K jobs.