From WCCO, our local CBS: Good Question: Why Do CEOs Get Paid So Much To Leave? [View all]

[myrna minx]

I did a real hack job with this article, but because the paragraphs are so small it's difficult to piece together a coherent blurb. My reason for posting is I think it's important that windfall entitlement severance packages for the failed CEO set is finally being discussed. We've been led to believe that contracts are imperative for failed CEOs, but job killers if you're a working class union member trying to earn a living wage.

http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2012/05/14/good-question-why-do-ceos-get-paid-so-much-to-leave/

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Most of us are lucky to get two weeks’ pay if we get fired.

But when a CEO gets the axe, or resigns to avoid being fired, he or she often walks away with millions in severance.

Why do failed CEOs get paid so much to leave?

Best Buy’s former CEO Brian Dunn resigned after the board started investigating him for having an inappropriate relationship with an employee.

snip

Most CEOs have a severance deal if they’re dismissed without cause and no severance if they’re fired for cause, but often times the exit is negotiated so both sides can save face.

snip
“They want to avoid public scrutiny, they want to avoid prolonged legal action, they want to get back to the business at hand,” said Morgan.

A lawsuit can air a company’s dirty laundry, and without a clear separation agreement a CEO could theoretically take all his or her personal knowledge of confidential company information to a competitor.