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AIG to OC workers: Thanks for the bailout, happy holidays, you’re fired
December 5th, 2008, 7:57 am · 38 Comments · posted by Teri Sforza, Register staff writer
More than 200 people who work for American International Group-related businesses in Orange County are slated to lose their jobs the day after Christmas.
That’s 112 people who work for AIG Marketing Inc. in Brea, and 106 at AIGM and 21st Century Insurance Co. in Brea, according to the California Employment Development Department’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act Notices.
AIG, the insurance giant whose lush executive perks and $150 billion government bailout have been the subject of great debate, is also going to make “special retention payments” to some senior managers to keep them from, uh, bailing (as if there’s any place else to go!). Those payments will more than double their salaries, Bloomberg reports.
More Watchdog:
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The government should negate the bail out for this poorly run turd of a company and the remaining workers should lynch the executives.
This is nothing compared to what is coming from the overall domestic market in January. It stinks, but it is all a part of the bubble bursting. Perhaps bubbles are the only way that America can provide close to full employment.
I wonder how many senior managers lost their jobs. Through their stellar stewardship, AIG hit the rocks and now they’re throwing the dedicated crew overboard.
Friday is lame metaphor day.
wow, I have been in the insurance industry for over 13 years and was laid off in July. I took the first job that was offered to me after being out of work for 2 months. The longest 2 months of my life. I feel for these 200 some folks….the day after christmas!!! It dosent get much worse than this!
Think the title is a bit biased. Yes, they got a bailout from the gov’t, which basically saved the company. Obviously, they’re going to have to re-structure their business plans. If letting go of people is one of them, so be it. Better to have to let go of people to keep them in business and pay off that loan than for them to come to the gov’t again in 5 years asking for another bailout.
Wasn’t the purpose of the “massive bailout” to keep people employed, and not just those at the top? Or was all that “taxpayer” money just for having a spectacular Christmas party and then “adios”!?? Did not congress realize exactly what was going to be done? Perhaps they don’t think questions are necessary when they give money away that doesn’t come from their pockets!
Plutocracy. / End Discussion
Remember all the old arguments that CEOs deserve their big money because the “earned” it? What rubbish… there needs to be a revolt. Obviously CEOs need to be paid a fair and decent salary, but what is their punishment for ruining this economy with their short term thinking and policies? They’ve basically looted their companies, used that money to pay themselves high salaries for a short period of time and now there’s nothing of value left. It’s disgraceful …
You are so slated..of course they are downsizing everyone is and they are selling off as demanded by the “LOAN”.
AIG is international and will be solvent..give it a REST guys
don’t try to destroy this company..are you all so dumb! AIG helps the nation’s economy. and those excursion”parties” were for independent brokers who selltheir products..everyone in the insustry has to have seminars to trade and host parties at the seminars..who would sell the products then dummy!!
Hunter83:
Re-structuring that doubles the salary of senior managers while laying off 200 people while accepting a taxpayer funded bailout? You’re okay with that?
Where does AIG think these senior managers are gonna go? This stinks to high heaven!
What this story fails to mention are the long-time 21st Century employees who were told they were going to be let go the first week of December, only to be surprised with a mid-week layoff they didn’t see coming several weeks before. Nice stunt to pull around the holidays.
What a WASTE! The top management, who screwed up in the first place, are asked to stay, and the worker bees (the ones that actually get stuff done) are told to leave. This is indicative of business as a whole. And that is why the poor stay down why the rich get richer.
The people in Congress should personally pay for this debacle.
AIG shouldn’t have had a 400K spa weekend at the St. Regis, could have saved some of these jobs.
What a bunch of jacka$$es
AIG executives should be dragged out in the street & executed!
Maybe they should be firing the over paid top brass and not the indians below. But then we live in the real world don’t we? I’m thinking the gov’t should have just let this “maverick” company crash and burn.
“Special retention payments” what the f… they need to pay the employees severence, least they could do for being laid off around the holidays.
As an AIG customer I have to say their service is terrible! I will never consider using their services again. Seeing this company get bailed out adds insult to injury.
Bestocmom, I understand this sentiment. But having been involved with some larger corporate events, these are planned at least a year in advanced and much of the costs would have been paid prior to the financial meltdown AIG has experienced.
And from a corporate standpoint, not using that money for the retreat would not have translated into saving jobs like many people have expressed sentiment for.
In general, the whole situation points to leadership that put greed ahead of common sense. Everyone gets screwed when it catches up with the company.
I find it rich that they are so worried about keeping their top “talent”… The way I see it, if the talent was so good the company wouldn’t be in ruin.
Maybe firing from the top down would be the best thing in this case.
Cliff Says:
December 5th, 2008 at 10:01 am
AIG executives should be dragged out in the street & executed
I hate left wing radicals like Cliff. I think they should have been tortured, dragged out in the street and executed.
I hope all you former AIG suckers savored that party at the ritz in dana point a few months ago on the government dime. What does unemployment pay? $750 a month? Now you can go party-hardy at the countrywide buffet. Once in awhile they send out coupons for a 2 for 1 deal. Welcome to reality on Main Street! LOL!
Thanks Bush, for squandering our money in high priced mercenaries in IRAQ, making New York the safest city in the world, having the government insure Lehman Brothers shorting of stock by AIG, AIG came out with the insurance exposure proceeds and the bailout money.
Dear Employee:
We are sorry to inform you that we blew our budgets on our last “team building” meeting at the St. Regis. Due to these circumstances, we will be laying you off. Happy Holidays.
Sincerely,
The AIG Management Team
Title is provoking; AIG grassroots weren’t part of the executive party in Dana Point. Surprise me the bailout money poured in and let the grassroots go. Looks like executives are hoarding and cutting the bottom. Is it a biz model?
What about the High Ranking guy at Broadcom that brought the company up Billions of $’s and they let him go because he did not have his degree complete?
I missed that in the paper yesterday!
OCO,
I think unemployment pays over 2k per month, am I wrong?
Republicans are TRAITORS —- Nope It pays out $450 capped per week.
I’m conservative, but I’m with Cliff. SHOOT the execs for their monsterous insensitivity. Those guys are not leadership material cause they don’t think of their troops.
The money AIG spent on bashes would go a long way in paying severance or retaining the people let go. They aren’t the high rollers.
If you make money for a company, you should be rewarded. If you lose money for the company and squander resources, you need to hit the soup line.
RAT:
I don’t believe it’s $2k a mo. even at the highest payout. That seems a bit steep. $750 is a lowball, or maybe for those who did not make the maximum wage. My guess would be $1300 for the maximum payout. Still in the countrywide buffet category. One night at the ritz with 2 drinks would eat that up.
Karma
WELL MY PRAYERS ARE FOR THOSE OVER AT AIG. THIS TEACHES ME AS SOME ONE WHO HAS A CAREER IN MARKETING THAT ONLY THE STRONG SURVIVE AND YOU REALLY HAVE TO BE AGGRESIVE AND SWIFT IN TODAYS ECONOMY. THE DAYS OF BUY,BUY,BUY ARE OVER AND YOU NEED TO STAY FOCUSED IN ORDER FOR YOUR MARKETING DIVISIONS TO STAY OPEN. MARKETING IS ALWAYS FEAST OR FAMIN AND A COMPANY IS ONLY AS GOOD AS IT SALES FORCE. SO THOSE WHO ARE STILL EMPLOYED SHOULD BE GRATEFUL AND FOCUSED.
All AIG executives should be sent to GuantemoBay and let them die there. they are financial terrorists.
Cliff should be careful what you say on a public page if anything happens to anyone working for AIG you could become a person of interest!
Remember Obama said to fire ALL 125,000 employees because of the mismanagement.
This is a start. Now when do we get our money back?
Mary Mahaffey - Excuse me but you’re the dummy here.
This is great!!! Not only does the taxpayer bail the company out, the taxpayer again gets to pay the unemployment for these poor individuals who will now have no job, at xmas time no less. Isn’t that equal to double dipping? I say let the taxpayers show AIG some really hard times, and just not buy their insurance, or any business they conduct. Unbelievable!
200 people, Ha. This is the tip of the iceburg.
Don’t see why these guys were given a bailout to begin with… Look, if the gov’t decided to give them a bailout, then let them do their thing. You trust them enough to give them a loan after looking at their plans to make good on the loan, then let them be. If they still go out of business in 5 years, you can blame the idiots who gave them the bailout. If we felt there should be outside people deciding what AIG should be doing with their money, then we should have included that in the terms of the loan. Having speculators telling AIG what to do with their money is like a bank loaning you money to open up a business and a month later they start telling you what you should be doing with it. If it wasn’t in the terms of the contract, then let them be.