It's Big, Starts with G, Has Lots of Green
If anyone finds coal in his stocking this Christmas, John F. Welch Jr., the former chief executive of General Electric, might be a good candidate. So says Jobs With Justice, a worker advocacy group, that named G.E. "National Grinch of the Year 2002" because of Mr. Welch's lavish retirement package.
Each year Jobs With Justice makes the award to draw attention to those in powerful positions who, in its view, have done the most to hurt working families. In an Internet poll, G.E. won, with 37 percent of 1,700 votes cast. The company was cited for proposing increases in payments that G.E. workers and retirees must pay for their health plan, while giving Mr. Welch a multimillion-dollar retirement package that included payments for his apartment, V.I.P. tickets at Yankee Stadium, and even his laundry. "While G.E. picks the pockets of working families and retirees, it is lavishing perks on current and retired executives," the group. "The most notorious is former C.E.O. Jack Welch."
For its part, General Electric accepted the distinction with good humor. "As any student of Dr. Seuss knows," said Gary Sheffer, a company spokesman, "the Grinch wasn't such a bad guy after all."
<http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/22/business/yourmoney/22PRIV.html>
A Dubious Distinction for G.E.
When measured in terms of changes in total market value, General Electric stock was the worst performer in the world this year through Dec. 12, according to Morningstar Inc.
G.E. stock lost $140 billion in market capitalization, equal to almost twice the gains of the top 10 performers combined.
G.E.'s stock price declined by 35 percent during the period, a dismal performance, to be sure, but hardly the worst among major companies.
But G.E.'s $398 billion market capitalization at the beginning of the year was so high that the fall in its stock price destroyed shareholders' wealth in colossal proportions. The $140 billion loss was bigger than the entire market cap of any one of the four next-biggest losers on the list — Intel, Tyco International, AOL Time Warner and I.B.M. — according to Morningstar data.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/22/business/22IDIG.html>
Carl
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