It should have been a glorious week for AOL chief executive Tim Armstrong. His company’s quarterly earnings, announced Thursday, were the best in a decade. “Olympian,” he declared.
Instead, he angered employees, insulted parents with sick babies and shined a light on a practice seeping its way into corporate America that threatens to rob workers of thousands of dollars in 401(k) savings. [snip]
The strange turn of events began Tuesday, when employees began learning that AOL was switching its 401(k) match to an annual lump sum, rather than distributing the money throughout the year with every paycheck as it had done before. Only employees who remain at the company through Dec. 31 are eligible, meaning that anyone who leaves midyear won’t see any of the pay. [snip]
The changes undercut a central virtue of the 401(k) system, which in theory should make it easier for employees to switch companies and take their savings with them. Instead, with people changing jobs more frequently during the course of their careers, the loss in matches can add up to thousands of dollars each time a worker switches employers. [snip]
Many at AOL did not know about the company’s new 401(k) policy until it was reported by The Washington Post this week. At first, after The Post report, Armstrong blamed the change on the new health-care law during an interview with CNBC. Then, on a conference call with employees, he added another reason: two workers had “distressed babies” in 2012, each costing the company $1 million. (our emphasis)This Randian "maker" douchenozzle earns a $12 million salary, or 12 "distressed-babies-worth" in Armstrong's calculation. Is his the image you'd want to project if you were a 21st Century tech company?
UPDATE: The wanker, responding to an uproar by AOL employees and management, reversed his decision in an email last night.
MUST READ BONUS: He's still a wanker in our book.
(Photo: "Distressed" AOL CEO Tim Armstrong)
