So Verizon has purchased Yahoo and in all likelihood major layoffs will follow. However, one person that won’t have to worry is the soon to be ex-CEO, Marissa Mayer, who could leave with a package valued over $50 million.
The mistakes at Yahoo are so numerous that it’s hard to count them all. From acquisitions that added zero value to the brand to hiring people that weren’t a good match for the company and its culture mistakes were made by an experienced CEO who was wrong the job.
I have followed Ms Mayer’s career from her days at Google and it was apparent to me that she was the wrong person to lead a Yahoo turnaround. Anyone with a personal publicist and spends millions on lavish parties while micromanaging was, to me, not the person who could turn around the struggling Internet giant, a former giant.
There is a bigger issue here that is lost in the headlines; the continued lavish rewards that failed CEO’s get while the rank and file get fired. Tim Armstrong, the new CEO of Yahoo, said that there are lots of synergies between Yahoo and AOL which is corporate speak for layoffs. If you’re a rank and file employee of Yahoo how do you feel knowing that in the near future a meeting could pop up on your calendar with HR in which you’re probably going to learn you have no job?
Middle managers who screw up are usually shown the door without any golden parachute while CEO’s who commit sexual harassment or are really poor performers get enough money that ensures they will never have to work again. [inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”” suffix=””]If American business is to become more competitive in a global economy the way CEO’s are compensated has to change.[/inlinetweet]
