AIG Bonuses

So, last fall you're an AIG employee sitting in your cubicle doing your job. You've heard some rumblings about tough times ahead but the first time you're sure that something is really wrong is when the bottom drops out of the company's stock price. That event is followed days later by headlines proclaiming that the company is out of money. Your reaction, "Holy shit. I better get my resume together."

Weeks go by and your colleagues are leaving. Some have been dismissed as the company cuts operating expenses to try and stay afloat. Others are lucky enough to find a new job quickly. One afternoon you're on the phone talking to a headhunter and your boss asks you into his office. "Jane" He says, "Your job is on a list of those considered crucial to the operation of the business. A lot of people around here think that the company will close its doors shortly but honestly, that's not going to happen anytime soon if ever. Just the same, to ally your fears and incent you stay through this debacle, we'd like to make you this offer." He hands you a memo with terms and conditions. "Notice that there's a bonus paid early next year should you decide to stay. Think about it and let me know."

You walk out of the office thinking, "I don't know. This is a really depressing place to work. It used to be kind of a family atmosphere but now so many of my friends have left... And I'm going to have to do the work of 3 people because the 2 other guys that had similar roles to mine are gone and they're sure not going to hire replacements."

Over the next couple of weeks you talk the offer over with friends and family. Your job search isn't taking off and reports from others you know who are looking confirm that finance jobs aren't easy to come by. Companies are laying off and nobody is hiring. So you tell your boss you're staying and you sign the memorandum that promises a bonus.

Over the next few months you get a few nibbles from people calling you about jobs and you start to think that maybe you acted hastily. But a deal is a deal. Mid March comes and you're paid a bonus. You think that now you can pay off some debt and life will be a little easier.

But all the sudden Washington is abuzz with how unfair it is that those unethical, immoral, AIG bozos who ran the company into the ground were paid a bonus. You don't know anyone that you'd classify as unethical. The accusations fly about how the company took on too much risk and should be punished for their inept behavior. Risk? You're not quite sure about risk but the water cooler gossip says that Moodys had rated most of what had been sold as A+ or better. Inept? The people you know are pretty sharp and interested in doing a good job. Now there's talk about passing special tax laws that would make you pay your bonus back to the IRS.