This I find fucking disgusting…
NEW YORK — Merrill Lynch & Co. Chief Executive John Thain has suggested to directors that he receive a 2008 bonus of as much as $10 million, according to newspaper reports.
Merrill’s executive compensation committee and full board will meet to hear Thain’s request Monday, but are said to be resisting the request.
A few months ago, Merrill was considering giving Thain a $30 million bonus, but it reportedly scaled back his request to be closer to $5 million or $10 million. Thain received $750,000 in salary.
On Friday shareholders of Merrill and Bank of America Corp. approved the combination of the companies. The company has suffered losses of $11.6 billion this year, and as many as 20 percent of its employees will be cut when the Bank of America takeover goes through.
Thain — who has only been with the company since last December — is credited with taking decisive action to save jobs and shareholder value in the wake of the credit crisis.
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo called the possible bonus “nothing less than shocking” on Monday. “Clearly, the performance of Merrill’s top executives throughout Merrill’s abysmal year in no way justifies significant bonuses for its top executives, including the CEO,” he said in a letter to Merrill’s board of directors.
“It is imperative that Merrill’s Board prevent wasteful expenditures of corporate funds on outsized executive bonuses and other unjustified compensation,” Cuomo added.
