Next for Home Builders: the Exit Door?

The meltdown in housing ultimately caused Stan O'Neal and Charles Prince to lose their jobs. Now a C.E.O. in housing might be next on the hot seat.

An investment group tied to unions is calling on the board of the nation's seventh-largest home builder, Beazer Homes, to oust its chief executive, Ian McCarthy,

In a letter to the chairman of the board's corporate governance committee, the investment group, CtW Investment, cited poor performance, excessive compensation, compliance failures, and weak corporate governance as reasons for to dismiss McCarthy.

Like other home builders, Beazer has been hit hard by the housing slump. On Monday, the company said it would suspend its dividend and a cut a fourth of its staff. In addition, past lending practices by the company are a subject of a federal investigation.

CtW Investment Group is critical of McCarthy's $57 million in total compensation over the past five years, including $22 million in 2006 alone, saying that it was among the very highest for similarly sized companies.

The group's letter also claims that in September 2001, Beazer Mortgage granted McCarthy a $538,500 mortgage to refinance his mortgage on an Atlanta home, in violation of company policy and perhaps of federal law as well.

"By swiftly replacing Mr. McCarthy with a qualified C.E.O. and naming an independent director to assume Mr. Beazer's role as chairman, the board can begin to restore the credibility Beazer desperately needs," CtW writes.

A representative for Beazer did not immediately return a call for comment.

Now, CtW has also called for the resignation of Angelo Mozilo, the chief executive of Countrywide Financial, the nation's largest mortgage lender. So far, that has not been a successful effort.

But the odds on a shake-up at Beazer look better. The stock surged nearly 10 percent today.

Liz Gunnison