AIG distributes another 100 million in bonuses

[nick1985]

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Money/Story/STIStory_486009.html

"Feb 3, 2010
AIG to pay US$100m in bonus

NEW YORK - BAILED out US insurance giant AIG, now 80 per cent government owned, will distribute about US$100 million (S$141 million) of bonuses to employees on Wednesday, a person close to the matter said.

AIG will pay out 'US$100 million on Wednesday,' said the source, who would not provide further details.

American International Group Inc, rescued in the face of a threatened financial system meltdown in September 2008, said in a statement that around 97 per cent of employees with its troubled Financial Products division 'have volunteered to reduce their upcoming 2010 payment'. The reductions, which affect both current and former AIG employees, amount to about US$20 million, the company said.

The move was part of an agreement with the US Treasury aimed at reimbursing some of the estimated US$165 million in bonuses cashed last year, unleashing a wave of taxpayer fury.

US media estimated the bonus totals for employees at the Financial Products division at US$195 million this year.

Under the weight of the blistering criticism, AIG employees accepted to reimburse US$45 million in bonuses, including US$19 million last year alone. The newly announced reductions come on top of that amount. -- AFP"



LOL...I dont even know what to say at this point. Sadly, its almost comical.

 

[GoPackGo]

If they are contractually obligated to pay the bonuses then they are...

 

[Hacp]

If they are contractually obligated to pay the bonuses then they are...

They wouldn't have been paid if the Government didn't rescue AIG. We should have let AIG fail.

 

[Sheik Yerbouti]

If they are contractually obligated to pay the bonuses then they are...

Is that possible at all to do? I thought bonuses were, well, bonuses. Not obligated, like a paycheck. I don't think they earned any bonuses however, if this is going to the person making 50 - 90k a year, moreso than the person making 250k a year, that's slightly different imo.
Not making the people who buried the company any richer, but actually give the bonuses to the working stiffs.

 

[StageLeft]

They wouldn't have been paid if the Government didn't rescue AIG. We should have let AIG fail.

Government shouldn't have bailed them out without manhandling ALL of those kinds of contracts.

Anyway, who are we kidding, these are retention bonuses, you know to "keep the top talent".

 

[spidey07]

Is that possible at all to do? I thought bonuses were, well, bonuses. Not obligated, like a paycheck. I don't think they earned any bonuses however, if this is going to the person making 50 - 90k a year, moreso than the person making 250k a year, that's slightly different imo.
Not making the people who buried the company any richer, but actually give the bonuses to the working stiffs.

Bonus and other compensation and how it's structured is normally specified in your employment contract.

And your class envy is showing.

 

[Hacp]

Bonus and other compensation and how it's structured is normally specified in your employment contract.

And your class envy is showing.

You can't pursue bonuses from a bankrupt company can you? This is exactly why we should not have rescued AIG. We're transferring millions from taxpayer pockets to AIG fatcats.

 

[ayabe]

You can't pursue bonuses from a bankrupt company can you? This is exactly why we should not have rescued AIG. We're transferring millions from taxpayer pockets to AIG fatcats.

Shh, quiet or they'll hear you and not let me have a car loan. Just give them what they want...or else...

 

[Doc Savage Fan]

They wouldn't have been paid if the Government didn't rescue AIG. We should have let AIG fail.

Yes...by all means...I enjoy standing in soup lines. /s

 

[Lemon law]

Well, maybe if we taxpayers are on the hook for the bonuses, we should pursue the fat cats who sunk the company and let those wreck less idiots get a negative bonus. As they owe the new owners billions.

But all in all, I agree, as soon as the company went belly up and had to be bailed out, all these prior bonus agreements became null and void. And that is the only way to look at it.

 

[Robor]

Bonus and other compensation and how it's structured is normally specified in your employment contract.

And your class envy is showing.

Uh, huh. I'm sure you'd be saying the same thing is this was GM and union bonuses. Not.

 

[spidey07]

Uh, huh. I'm sure you'd be saying the same thing is this was GM and union bonuses. Not.

Sure I would. But obama broke the constitution and made those contracts null and void.

 

[ElFenix]

Government shouldn't have bailed them out without manhandling ALL of those kinds of contracts.

Anyway, who are we kidding, these are retention bonuses, you know to "keep the top talent".

yup, if we hadn't had that top talent looking out for our interests we'd be bartering cigarettes and bullets right now after the great meltdown of 2008! it's right that we pay them giant bonuses!

Sure I would. But obama broke the constitution and made those contracts null and void.

Clause 4: To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;

 

[thegimp03]

Obama should have hired and paid an annual salary to another useless official and call him a "pay czar" in order to limit this kind of stuff from happening...oh wait...

 

[soccerballtux]

If they are contractually obligated to pay the bonuses then they are...

They wouldn't have been paid if the Government didn't rescue AIG. We should have let AIG fail.

agree.

 

[Moonbeam]

You can be sure the folk who are getting those bonuses will turn them over to the government. Nobody wants a reward for almost destroying the country.

 

[Cerpin Taxt]

Who would've guessed that AnswersInGenesis was so well-funded? :awe:

 

[ebaycj]

Who would've guessed that AnswersInGenesis was so well-funded? :awe:

Government grants for faith-based organizations = FAIL

 

[JS80]

You can't pursue bonuses from a bankrupt company can you? This is exactly why we should not have rescued AIG. We're transferring millions from taxpayer pockets to AIG fatcats.

This is correct. I have first hand experience. If a company goes bankrupt, the bonus contract goes bye bye. Trust me on this.

 

[Genx87]

Simply ridiculous.

 

[tvarad]

In business, the time for bargaining is when you are in the driver's seat. That was when BO had the industry titans by their proverbial gonads as their Rube Goldberg financial contraptions collapsed on them and they ran to the Govt. for help with their "sky is falling" cries. At the very least, he should have insisted on a veto vote in the affairs of every institution that received bailout money either directly or indirectly for, say, five years until their mess could be straightened out. Now the horses have bolted and the bankers are, well, laughing all the way to the bank and BO is looking like the village idiot.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

Government shouldn't have bailed them out without manhandling ALL of those kinds of contracts.

Anyway, who are we kidding, these are retention bonuses, you know to "keep the top talent".

i dunno if you're being sarcastic or not, but it's true. people will leave if they are not compensated.
they'll find another company that will pay bonuses.

 

[drebo]

i dunno if you're being sarcastic or not, but it's true. people will leave if they are not compensated.
they'll find another company that will pay bonuses.

Not according to the liberal left. According to them, if the government doesn't tell businesses how much to pay people, they'll only ever make $1/hr. Labor markets don't work, remember?

Joking (or was I?) aside, you missed his sarcasm. His sarcasm wasn't about the bonuses, it was about "keeping the top talent" in a business that had run itself into the ground.

 

[HomerJS]

Bonus and other compensation and how it's structured is normally specified in your employment contract.

And your class envy is showing.

If bonuses get paid regardless of performance and employers are contratually obligaed to pay them why aren't these people just getting a straight salary??

 

[Acanthus]

If bonuses get paid regardless of performance and employers are contratually obligaed to pay them why aren't these people just getting a straight salary??

They are almost always performance based.

AIG is very profitable in all arms of the company except for 2.

1. Aircraft rental. (minor losses)
2. AIG Financial Products. (otherworldly losses)

Staff of AIG derivatives unit agree to bonus cuts
12:11 PM ET 2/3/10 | Marketwatch

Also, AIG has turned a profit in its last 2 quarters thanks to winding down a lot of their derivatives and selling off foreign wings of its company.