there are days it just doesn't pay to read the news

[mickeym]

AIG executive resigns over pay limits

NEW YORK — A top executive at American International Group Inc has resigned because of pay curbs imposed by the Obama Administration's pay czar, the insurer said on Wednesday.

Anastasia Kelly, AIG's vice chairman for legal, human resources, corporate affairs and corporate communications, resigned effective December 30 for "good reason" and is eligible for severance pay under the terms of the company's executive severance plan, the insurer said.

Kelly stands to be paid about $2.8 million in severance, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Kelly's resignation comes after Kenneth Feinberg, who is charged with monitoring pay levels at companies that received taxpayer funds, imposed pay caps for AIG's top executives.

Earlier this month, Feinberg set the compensation structures for the 26th through 100th highest-paid employees at four firms, including AIG, limiting most cash salaries to $500,000.

Rest of the article here.

Gosh, they're unhappy about their salaries being limited to $500,000? My heart bleeds for them. Also, since when do you get severance pay for resigning/quitting? I thought severance packages were for layoffs/retirement, that sort of thing?

$2.8M in severance. Bet she won't have to pinch pennies and wiggle things around to pay HER COBRA payment every month.

No, I'm not bitter at all. Much.

Comments

[zillahseye.livejournal.com]

Wonder how old she is. Divide out that severance, she'll probably make it to retirement on a half mil a year.

[mickeym.livejournal.com]

Bleh. Or maybe someone will come along and stab her and she'll die and it won't matter!

Yikes. I'm not actually wishing/hoping for her death, but who the hell QUITS a perfectly good, obviously well-paying job, because their salary is (for now) capped at a half mil a year? I mean, Jesus, here I am excited and happy that I'll be able to extend my initial 25week unemployment for another 18mos if necessary -- bringing home a whopping $620 every two weeks. GAH.

[grandiose666.livejournal.com]

my heart, it bleeds. the violins, they are the saddest. in the world.
truly.

[mickeym.livejournal.com]

Right? I mean, seriously, what is wrong with people? Gah.

[jamesinboots.livejournal.com]

resigned effective December 30 for "good reason"

Mandatory pay cuts for government fund-assisted companies is "good reason" to resign? Ugh. That's so incredibly skeevy. :-/

[mickeym.livejournal.com]

Well, and y'know, the thing I love about it the most is... *I* was laid off from my GOVERNMENT JOB (local, city-level, but still!) BECAUSE OF BUDGET CONSTRAINTS.

And my job? Paid a whole whopping not-quite-$27K/yr.

I really wish I could boot that woman, and others like her, in the ASS. Jesus. Be thankful you have a job, and stop being so fucking greedy, because there are hundreds of thousands of us out here, now collecting unemployment (at the generous rate of $310/wk) and trying to make ends meet who would jump at the opportunity to make $500K/yr.

ARGH. Sorry. I'm tired and frustrated with Sam and Dean (and writing freaking sex scenes OMG) and didn't meant to vent at you!

[jamesinboots.livejournal.com]

Don't apologize, I totally understand!! *hug hug*

I honestly don't understand how executives can, in this economy, continue to accept their same salaries and still sleep at night. While their subordinates are being laid off left and right, some of them are still making millions of dollars a year. If they gave up just $1 million, they could keep like 30 workers or something. It's so ridiculous. Maybe I'm oversimplifying, but I just... do not get it.

[mickeym.livejournal.com]

I don't think you're oversimplifying it -- and that's what makes it so frustrating. That those of us down here, the little people, as it were, WE can see this stuff.

When the budget issues were first brought up for Louisville Metro Gov't, we were told that if all non-sworn/non-emergency responders took four furlough days for the remainder of the fiscal year (each employee had five months in which to take the four days, and we were given the option to split it up over pay periods, like, four hours at a time!), then it would "fix" the budget problem and we wouldn't have to worry about layoffs.

No one wanted to take furlough days, but we all did. From the Mayor's office on down, unless you were a sworn police officer, a firefighter or an EMT, you took four furlough days (this was between Dec 2008 and May 2009). Then we were told no, it wasn't going to fix the problem, they were still going to have to do some layoffs.

Meanwhile, though, while 129 of us got letters saying we were being laid off effective such-and-such date... there were people within LMG who retired...and were REHIRED BACK into their previous positions! And we're talking $50K/yr+ - in some cases, more than $100K/yr. With Obama's stimulus packages for the local governments coming in, Louisville Mayor decided to hire a "team" of people to monitor/oversee/whatever those funds... and hired four people, all at salaries around $100K/yr apiece.

And now they're getting started to begin the 2nd round of layoffs. *shakes head* It's beyond frustrating; it's mind-boggling.

[jamesinboots.livejournal.com]

Ugh, that all sounds so lametarded. :( It just doesn't make any SENSE. In a time of economic distress, the best thing to do is keep as many people in jobs as possible, because the fewer people with jobs, the fewer consumers to... consume. Downside of living in a capitalist society. D:

And ugh, furlough days. My state has been doing that, and the emergency workers were not exempt from that. Police workers and firefighters totally had to take furlough days too, which meant less of them out there all the time, which is rather horrifying to me. At least our ambulance services are privately owned. :-/

[mickeym.livejournal.com]

Like I said: we can see it, see how lame it all is. Unfortunately the ones who NEED to see it...are the ones controlling everything. Ugh.

Are you in Cali? I know my mom said things are pretty rough out there (she's in San Diego), but I didn't realize that police and firefighters had to do the furlough days as well. Yikes, for real. :(

[jamesinboots.livejournal.com]

Nah, I live in Georgia. We have a lot of stupid people in charge here. D:

[azephirin.livejournal.com]

OMG A MERE $500K/YEAR MY HEART BLEEDS FOR HER.

[mickeym.livejournal.com]

Ahahaha, TOTALLY, YES.

Dude, hi! I've missed you! :)

[pensnest]

I've seen this kind of incredible selfishness before. I think people at the top of the heap have *NO CONCEPTION* of what life is like for normal folks. City w/bankers who cannot imagine it is possible to live comfortably on a mere £50,000 a year (a very decent salary). Who think they are hard done by when their bonuses fall into four figures. They need a good dose of reality.

[nopseud]

I thought severance packages were for layoffs/retirement, that sort of thing?

This is how company execs make a lot of their money, I think. They take a job, and part of the package is that if they leave early they get a payout. Execs are generally the same fairly limited pool of people circulating between companies, and their pay and severance packages are voted for by...the executive board.

Really, the shareholders of the companies are the ones who ought to be holding execs to account about this. But if they won't, then kudos to the government for trying to. Hopefully they'll stamp on the severance packages, too.

[raynedanser.livejournal.com]

And yet, people are having FITS that Obama did the bailout thing and is doing the salary limits. Because you know, SOMEONE has to have common sense since clearly the big ass companies have NONE.

This woman is a prime example of why this country is in so much of the shit that it's in. Ugh.

[kitanabychoice.livejournal.com]

That is complete and utter bullshit if I'd ever heard it. Oh noes, you can't buy your 3 year old a Mercedes-Benz, heaven forbid!

Ugh.

[lizliz.livejournal.com]

Not to defend this kind of behavior, but the fact of the matter is, when you live at a certain lifestyle, the expenses related to maintaining that lifestyle are prohibitive, and can be very difficult to shed. I worked in high-end divorces for a while, and we had clients who had MORTGAGES that were over $400,000 a year, and the kind of house or apartment you own at that level isn't something you can sell at a moment's notice, and they're not really selling right now. We had a client at a major media company whose income decreased from around $2.5M to just over $1M, and we can say "boo hoo, isn't that a pity, poor guy", but it was eye-opening watching him try to decrease expenses AND try to convince his ex-wife that she had to decrease hers.