AIG Redefines “Retention”
posted in Business |From today’s NYTimes-
“A.I.G. made more than 73 millionaires in the unit which lost so much money that it brought the firm to its knees, forcing a taxpayer bailout,” Mr. Cuomo wrote in the letter. “Something is deeply wrong with this outcome.”
Mr. Cuomo did not name the bonus recipients, but the numbers are eye-popping, given A.I.G.’s fragile state. The highest bonus was $6.4 million, and six other employees received more than $4 million, according to Mr. Cuomo. Fifteen other people received bonuses of more than $2 million, and 51 people received bonuses of $1 million to $2 million, Mr. Cuomo said. Eleven of those who received “retention” bonuses of $1 million or more are no longer working at A.I.G., including one who received $4.6 million, he said.
Nice! $4.6M to NOT stay.
Although frankly those guys appear to suck so much that maybe paying to get rid of them IS the right thing.
On the other hand, the latest story is the reason they need to “retain” them is that otherwise they will go out into the market and use their insider knowledge to trade against the A.I.G. positions and get rich that way. If that is true, it sounds like insider trading, fraud, or some other type of crime, but it doesn’t mean its not what is happening even as we uncover this stuff.