A decade ago, when GE parted ways with Jack Welch a public
clamour broke out over his $417-million golden handshake. How could
a publicly traded company justify such high severance?
Notwithstanding that disapproval, the trend hasn't changed;
most chief executives can expect to receive huge payouts at
termination.
For example, if the current CEO of CBS, Les Moonves, were to be
terminated today, he would be due more than $251-million in
severance pay. And it is no different in Canada. When roughly
$50,000 is the Canadian employee's severance norm, how can
senior executives continue to negotiate such disproportionate
payouts?
Employees tend to accept many unfavourable terms in their
employment agreements when taking a new job because they fear
losing the offer if they attempt to negotiate a better agreement.
Many worry they will be perceived as "difficult" going
into a new relationship. In any event, most employees have little
leverage to improve the terms of their
