rssAuto Execs Fly In Style, Then Beg
Wednesday, November 19, 2008 at 6:15 pm
- 7 Comments
Detroit’s auto executives might be in Washington pleading for billions in taxpayer bailout cash, but that doesn’t mean they’re going to give up a lifestyle.
ABC News reported today that the CEOs of Ford, Chrysler and General Motors continue to travel on private jets, even as their companies crumble around them. For GM head Rick Wagoner, ABC said, the round trip from Detroit to DC will run $20,000.
Not that saving 20-grand is going to help a company that’s tearing through $5 billion per month. But in a town where appearances mean a lot — and where congressional critics already have executive compensation on their radars — the news of the lavish travel arrangements is sure to grab the attention of more than a few already-skeptical lawmakers.
7 Comments
Comment posted November 19, 2008 @ 4:36 pm
I thought about this today over lunch. I wonder if they were staying at a run down Motel 6 across the river or if they were put up in some five-star hotel.
Comment posted November 19, 2008 @ 5:20 pm
If they give them any money, there had better be some actual oversight on how it is spent. Maybe they could learn a few things from AIG.
Comment posted November 20, 2008 @ 5:57 am
If it saves them 4 hours to be working on a way to fix this (the four hours of having to wait in the airports and get through security), I don't have that much of a problem with it. The bigger issue is whether their personal compensation will be kept intact.
Let's not lose sight of the fact that we shouldn't punish the entire industry for what these guys do.
Comment posted November 20, 2008 @ 8:10 am
You figure these guys are getting paid roughly $10,000 – $20,000 an hour so the plane trip is really irrelevant viewed along those lines, but this is why they should get no aid from the government. Do whatever you want on with your own money, but when you start spending taxpayer money it's a totally different story.
If they are going to accept government aid though, they need to gut out these charlatan execs that clearly know nothing about managing a company. Of course, they don't care about the company, but only about their lifestyle. I seriously doubt they would see to there own demise in the interest of the company.
Comment posted November 20, 2008 @ 10:24 am
How much time is lost by the GM representatives when they have to check in for a flight two hours early, or when the GM representatives are not to talk about business during the flight due to insider trading concerns?
The question is what is lost? When 12 people fly on a private jet it costs about $20,000. When 12 fly commercially to DC it costs about $12,000. Is a $8,000 savings worth the time lost?
Isn't it really worth it in the long run?
Comment posted February 1, 2009 @ 5:28 am
certainly they are not going to give up their lifestyle!
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