From MSN Money: Corporate CEOs: Cut more jobs, make more money

[Better Believe It]

CEOs: Cut more jobs, make more money
By Michael Brush
MSN Money
October 5, 2010


Across America, the Great Recession and its aftermath have hit the haves and the have-nots in very different ways.

Turns out that while legions of workers got pink slips, the CEOs at some of the companies making the steepest job cuts earned some of the biggest salaries. And the issue isn't the much-discussed pay gap between executives and average workers; these CEOs earned pay packages that were often two or three times the average pay for other CEOs.

Meanwhile, the layoffs cost us all -- because of a weaker economic recovery due to a dwindling consumer class and the cost to the government of supporting an army of unemployed.

This unsettling CEO reward system, highlighted in a new report from the Institute for Policy Studies, raises an obvious question: Is one reason unemployment remains high that, for CEOs, cutting jobs pays? "By hollowing out their companies and cutting costs, CEOs can get a short-term stock price increase" and cash in on their stock and stock options, says Brandon Rees, the deputy director of the AFL-CIO Office of Investment.

Please read the full and eye opening article at:

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/CompanyFocus/ceos-cut-more-jobs-make-more-money.aspx?GT1=33002