Layoffs Pay off for CEOs

Mark Hurd handed out 6,400 pink slips as CEO of computer and printer maker Hewlett-Packard Co., and was generously rewarded for it, says a report from the Institute for Policy Studies.

CEOs who cut the most jobs are paid the most, the report says.

The report names recently departed Hurd as a prominent example, citing his “slash-and-burn, merge-and-purge business model” and noting that he was paid $12.2 million in cash and about $16 million in stock when left Palo Alto, California-based HP.

Hurd’s total 2009 compensation was $24.2 million, landing him at No. 3 on the “10 highest-paid CEO layoff leaders.”

Hurd handed out 6,400 pink slips, the report said, “a stark departure from the ‘no-layoff’ policy of HP co-founders William Hewlett and David Packard.

Other corporate bosses named in the report include Fred Hassan of Schering-Plough and William Weldon of Johnson & Johnson. Hassan got $49.7 million in 2009 and announced some 16,000 job cuts during the merger with Merck. Weldon got $25.6 million and presided over 8,900 cuts.

The report, titled “Executive Excess,” says layoffs are ultimately bad for businesses (not to mention for the workers who are cut and their families). It describes recent Congressional moves to rein in CEO payouts.

Read the full report at the IPS website.