This Is Serious: C.E.O.'s Losing Jobs

Chief executives are swelling the unemployed ranks, according to the latest figures from global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Okay, maybe "swelling" is a bit of an exaggeration: 126 C.E.O.'s left their corner offices last month. That was 9.5 more than the 115 departures announced in May, and 20 percent above the 105 departures in June 2007.

Even so, overall C.E.O. exits this year are only slightly ahead of last year - 724 so far compared with 719 at the same time last year. (By contrast, more than 425,000 worker bees cashiered so far this year, and with a forecast of many more to come because of the sour economy.)

The struggling economy isn't pushing companies to axe their leadership, said John A. Challenger, the firm's C.E.O. "Companies are looking elsewhere to cut costs, he said, "through staff reductions and decreasing operating costs, rather than letting go of their C.E.O.'s."

Challenger said that since external factors, not necessarily leadership mistakes, are creating company problems, "companies are reluctant to punish C.E.O.'s for things that are largely out of their control."

Also, Challenger said that pushing top brass out the door is "unlikely to reverse a company's fortunes in this economy and the tumult may actually make the situation worse."

That said, the financial firms, along with government and nonprofit agencies, lost the most C.E.O.'s in June - 16 each. Technology, including telecommunications and e-commerce, lost another 16. The health care industry saw 15 depart.

The energy industry had eight C.E.O.'s depart, twice as many as in January, the month with the highest number this year.

A few high-profile executives got the boot -- like Ken Thompson, who was ousted from Wachovia.

His departure brought to 10 the total number of C.E.O.'s felled by the current credit collapse. Another four have left amid company bankruptcy.

Since only one was fired, most C.E.O. departures are a lot more dignified that the exits shown the rank and file. In June, 41 C.E.O.'s who left officially resigned and 32 retired. Another 19 just "stepped down," according to company news releases.

Five found new positions elsewhere and 17, including Bob Metcalfe at GreenFuel Technology, a Cambridge, Mass., alternative energy company, concluded serving as the interim CEO and moved on.

Even so, Challenger, Gray & Christmas toted up only 7,211 chief executive exits since it began keeping tabs in August 1999.

by Elizabeth Olson