Bonuses to Dow Jones executives just plain wrong

Philip Stone writes on the Follow the Media web site that the news earlier this week that Dow Jones had given bonuses in the form of stock options to its top executives, as well as the publisher and managing editor of The Wall Street Journal, seems stupid?

Why? The company has been laying off employees and recently cut the size of the paper to save on newsprint costs.

Strone wrote, “We all know the arguments to support the bonuses. The company wants to attract and keep the best talent possible, (so how come some of that bonus went to an executive who had left the company?), and therefore a company needs to keep its compensation competitive.

“But there just seems to be something very wrong when a company, still in a cost-saving mode and not showing itself shy of still getting rid of bodies, rewards executives for taking actions that bring so much misery to others. If costs have to be cut and that means bodies going, such is business and, sure, shareholder value is increased – but in that environment is it really right socially to reward extra those people for doing that – something doesn’t quite click.

“No doubt there are written contracts that provide for the awards if certain criteria are met but the question still remains – in the type of environment that Dow Jones continues to be in – are those bonuses the right thing for the esprit de corps of the entire organization? Seriously doubt the staff is down at the local watering hole drinking to the CEO’s health and toasting, ‘Good for you, Richard!’â€?

Read more here.