Layoffs increase CEO pay
Wednesday, September 01, 2010
By Len Boselovic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Chief executive officers at the 50 companies that announced the biggest layoffs since the recession intensified in late 2008 made 42 percent more last year than the average large company CEO, according to a study released today by a Washington research group.

Three Pittsburgh companies made the The Institute for Policy Studies' list, which ranked CEOs based on the number of announced layoffs. Alcoa finished ninth, with 13,985 layoffs; CEO Klaus Kleinfeld's pay was $11.2 million. U.S. Steel placed 23rd, with 6,705 layoffs and CEO John P. Surma's $1.5 million pay. PNC Financial Services Group ranked 28th, with 5,800 layoffs and CEO James E. Rohr's pay of $14.8 million.

"Our findings illustrate the great unfairness of the Great Recession," said Sarah Anderson, who co-authored the study. "CEOs are squeezing workers to boost short-term profits and fatten their own paychecks."

The Institute for Policy Studies said the average CEO on its list of the 50 layoff leaders made $12 million in 2009 compared to the average $8.5 million that CEOs at S&P 500 companies received. The average CEO on the list announced 10,627 layoffs at his or her company between Nov. 1, 2008, and April 1, 2010, the institute said.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10244/1084027-28.stm