Layoffs at these companies just meant more money available for CEO salaries
It’s always comforting to know that no matter how deeply we sink into recession, executives at America’s leading corporations continue to rake in obscene amounts of money in salaries and bonuses. According to Think Progress, The Institute for Policy Studies found that the 50 firms that laid off the most workers since the economy went into the tank are also, apparently, the companies most of touch with the rest of America. So, while you and I are were watching our expenses and cutting back, these firms continued to give exorbitant salaries to their CEOs, who averaged nearly $12 million in pay for 2009. From Think Progress:
Those CEOs’ combined compensation totaled $598 million, while at the same time, their companies eliminated 531,363 jobs despite reporting a 44 percent average profit increase for 2009.