American aircraft maker BOEING, for demonstrating that
it's good to be at the top.
Weeks after announcing plans in October 2001 to lay off some 30,000 employees,
they subsequently announced plans to rent some of the most expensive office
space available in London, England--for a total of no more than 20 executives.
In fact the property is so expensive (about 609,00 pounds per year, on top of
other expenses like local taxes that will add another third to the total bill), that the office space has stood empty for two years.
Responded a Boeing spokesman to charges that Boeing was coddling its top
executives at the expense of its workforce, "The move is part of our long-term
plan to expand our presence in the UK. This country is one of our key markets
and all property in central London is expensive. It is very sad that we have
had to lay people off."
Camera maker POLAROID, another company where it was good
to be at the top.
After filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2001, saying they would liquidate
their assets, and eliminating health benefits for their employees, Polaroid
turned around and asked in court if they could distribute $19 million as "stay
bonuses" to their top 45 executives.
XEROX, for its early creations of fax machines,
personal computers, and laser printers. The company heads decided they didn't
want to take the risk of marketing these products and managed to lose a
number of top employees to Apple and IBM...who went on to help Apple and IBM
develop the technology on their own. Xerox subsequently accused them of
stealing their ideas.