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Tony Hayward receives stern words from President Obama in June. (White House photo)
Multiple media outlets are now telling us that Tony Hayward’s departure from BP is likely to be announced this week. Reuters put it this way:
BP Plc has decided Chief Executive Tony Hayward should step down over his handling of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and his departure could be announced in the coming days, sources close to the company said on Sunday.
BP’s chief executive Tony Hayward has been negotiating the terms of his exit, with a formal announcement likely within 24 hours, the BBC has learned.
Yes, the twit who famously told us that this pesky spill had been such a nuisance that he wanted his life back is about to get just that.
And what a life it will be. Despite being at the helm as the company’s negligence unleashed the worst oil spill in US history and the subsequent loss of almost half the company’s value, Hayward will still be rich beyond the wildest dreams of almost anyone.
CNN gives us the details on Hayward’s likely exit package and current compensation. First, CNN informs us that Hayward won’t get a huge, American-style Golden Parachute. I don’t know about you, but I certainly would settle for the chrome bungee jump or whatever this is that Hayward is getting:
"He will be lucky to get a single year’s salary," said Paul Hodgson, a senior researcher at The Corporate Library, a governance group. "And even that could be mitigated in certain circumstances."
His compensation package — including salary and bonuses — was worth 3.158 million British pounds ($4.87 million), according to the company’s 2009 annual report. He’s also due an annual pension of 584,000 pounds ($901,000).
Additionally, he held more than 535,000 shares in the company as of December 31, which would currently be worth about 212 millon pounds (about $327 million).
That’s right, Hayward will be "lucky" to get an extra lump of almost $5 million to go away, while pulling in a pension of almost a million dollars a year on top of his stock worth $327 million.
Poor thing, I sure hope he doesn’t feel insulted by that paltry package.
If Hayward’s exit package, pension and stock ownership are indeed as reported by CNN, I’d like to nominate his life as the ultimate definition of moral hazard. He will have destroyed the Gulf of Mexico, made billions of dollars worth of stock held around the world go poof and still will walk away with riches beyond imagination. If he is to suffer nothing more uncomfortable than the "humiliation" of losing his job, then there simply is no incentive for other CEO’s to act responsibly in the future.
17 Comments
So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, get lost…
Yeah, it is a bit of “hate to see ya go and don’t let the door hit cha where the good doG split ya”
On the bright side, Tony will have more time to explore his second career as a Chia Pet.
It’s Yatching Time!
Tony Hayward should be in prison. Texas City, Alaska, and Deepwater Horizon: all on his greenwashing watch.
How long until BP changes its name (again) do you suppose.
British govt will get quite a bite out of his separation salary and pension, won’t they?
LOL … that should take up most of his $300Mil.
In the name of bygones – looking forward and not backwards – Obama should make Tony an honorary American Citizen. That way, forward-looking Tony can keep the money. Rather, Tony could then pay taxes at more attractive Obama Admin/GOP tax rates for the wealthy with no inheritance tax for Tony’s entitled heirs.
And the GOP says welfare recipients have a sense of entitlement. Hell, those SOB’s refer to Social Security as an entitlement and the entire MSM presents it thusly 24/7.
Silver Lining: For all that, the BP catastrophe has inched the conversation from weaning ourselves off ‘dependence on foreign oil’ to weaning ourselves off ‘dependence on oil’ altogether. As Emily Dickinson wrote: “Hope is the thing with [crude] feathers”.
Mr. Hayward and the company he led, a company that will still be led by like-minded senior executives, ruined the Gulf and plan to keep on digging and supporting lobbyists whose work allows them to do it with less consequence than reward.
They’re gearing up off the coast of Libya even as we comment.
Hayward may have the big bucks buyoff, but he will always and forever look in the mirror knowing he is one sucky pathetic slimy little tarball of inhumanity.
Almost all CEOs are like Hayward: so insanely rich that it doesn’t matter if they EFF up “royally”… they walk away overburdened with lotsa money. So who cares?? Not they. Big deal: Hayward’s leaving BeeePeee… and who’s gonna replace Hayward? Someone just the same. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss…
What’s been accomplished and what have learned?? Seems like the only lesson that at least some Americans learned is: drill more, baby, drill more.
FDL Book Salon Welcomes Andrei Markovits and Lars Rensmann, Gaming the World upstairs
So you know what the difference is between Tony Hayward and Jamie Dimon?
Obama says fire Tony and he gets fired. Obama calls Jamie and his counterparts at TBTF banks the smartest guys in the room after they CRASHED the world’s economy, and drove all their companies into the ground.
Why, why, why, why didn’t Obama call for all the TBTF banksters to get fired? I haven’t a clue. Obama’s going to get his ass handed to him in 2012 because he didn’t clean up Wall St and really fix the economy.
Tony fucked up and some of his responses were way out of line. They guy has only been in the top tiers for how long? What a way to use Tony to pile all of BP’s fuck ups on his back. Tony is not the problem
No incentive whatever.
Moral hazard thy name (at the moment) is Tony Hayward.
What an “honor roll” it shall be.
“Poor” wee Tony, … yachta, yachta
(What that toff twit needs is a good stiff belt of … shame, but it isn’t made in a size to fit and “moral” Hayward wouldn’t recognize the stuff if he fell headlong into an ocean of it …)
Thank you, Jim for allowing me the opportunity of sharing my little thoughts about BIG, tough, Tony M.H. Hayward.
I only hope that he may learn just how “well” we all feel about his remarkable $uce$$ in life.
Certain things will always bring Tony Hayward to mind, thus, the man has attained immortality, of a sort, and lent his name to something that will long be remembered.
DW
I’m sure that’s the entire point. The company is getting rid of him to save face. But, they don’t honestly want to deter his actions when it comes to those who will come after him. This is a corrupt industry and it is bent on staying corrupt. Hayward is actually getting a pat on the back, despite the fact that he lost his job.