February 3, 2009

Way to go Macy's - keep stayin' classy

How's this for a schedule. Monday - Lay off 7,000 workers. Tuesday - deliver the final installment of a $1.39 Million stock bonus to top execs. The bonus is actually a little more complex -- it was part of a deal initialized in 2004 and to be paid off in chunks but still, talk about really bad timing... From the Cincinnati.com:
Macy�s execs get performance bonuses
A day after Macy�s executives announced lay-offs of 7,000 workers and cut a dividend in half, top company officials received a final installment on $1.39 million in performance bonuses from 2004.

The stock credit plan created in March 2004 brought five top executives �phantom stock units� or stock credits after a three-year holding period ended on Saturday, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Tuesday.

Half of the incentive was paid in February 2008 with the remaining amount paid Monday.
'Ya know, if I was one of these top five execs, I would have suggested that the money be paid quietly in the middle of summer, long after the 7K layoff was history. Doing it so close to each other just doesn't send the right message and may well come back and bite them. The bad management shows in their stock prices over the last five years. Pretty good up until early 2007 and then a greased ride down into the terlit after then. And these people think that they deserve a reward? Posted by DaveH at February 3, 2009 9:03 PM