CEOs of the 50 firms that have laid off the most workers since the
onset of the economic crisis took home 42 percent more pay in 2009
than their peers at S&P 500 firms, according to “CEO
Pay and the Great Recession,” the 17th in a
series of annual Executive
Excess reports from the Institute for Policy
Studies.
“Our findings
illustrate the great unfairness of the Great Recession,” says Sarah
Anderson, lead author on the Institute study. “CEOs
are squeezing workers to boost short-term profits and fatten their
own paychecks.”
The 50 top CEO
layoff leaders received $12 million on average in 2009, compared to
the S&P 500 average of $8.5 million. Each of the corporations
surveyed laid off at least 3,000 workers between November 2008 and
April 2010. Seventy-two percent of the firms announced mass layoffs
at a time of positive earnings reports.
You can take
action to stop executive excess here.