‘Petanda buruk kegawatan ekonomi di Amerika Syarikat: enam ketua pegawai eksekutif syarikat ternama di negara itu hilang kerja dalam tempoh lapan hari.’
Demikian berita dari New York yang dilaporkan oleh The Straits Times 13 Januari 2009 yang memetiknya daripada The Wall Street Journals.
Laporan penuh yang disiarkan oleh The Straits Times dalam ruangan Reccession Report-nya ialah seperti berikut:
‘NEW YORK - CHIEF executive officers (CEOs) at six major United States companies have lost their jobs in the last eight days, in a sign of more turmoil to come, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Mr William Watkins, who was ousted on Monday at hard-drive maker Seagate Technology, is the sixth CEO of a publicly held company to be replaced in eight days, the newspaper noted in a report on its website on Tuesday.
[Hard drive produced by Seagate Technology]
His exit follows the departures last week of the CEOs of Tyson Foods, Borders, Orbitz Worldwide, Chico's FAS and Bebe Stores.
Many experts view the changes as harbingers of significantly more turmoil in executive suites this year as company bottom lines and stock prices are hit by the economic crisis, said the Journal.
It added that an informal survey of management consultants, recruiters, investors and governance specialists pointed to several other CEOs whose jobs may be vulnerable: General Motors' Rick Wagoner, Citigroup's Vikram Pandit, Sun Microsystems' Jonathan Schwartz, and Bank of America's Kenneth Lewis.
'This is the most volatile environment I've seen in 30 years', Mr Peter Crist, head of search firm Crist/Kolder Associates, told the Journal.
Last year, 61 companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 stock index changed CEOs, up from 56 a year earlier, said the Journal.
The number may increase this year, said assistant finance professor Dirk Jenter of Stanford University's business school. Boards typically oust CEOs a year or two after relative shareholder returns start to slip, he added.
Executives of corporations based outside the US are leaving as well, said the Journal. Anglo-Australian mining company Rio Tinto on Monday said Mr Dick Evans, CEO of its aluminium division, plans to retire on April 20. Norwegian electric power and aluminium producer Norsk Hydro ASA also said on Monday that its CEO is stepping down on March 30.
The turmoil extends to senior executives as new CEOs often replace top lieutenants to create their own team. Mr Harry Pearce, chairman of Nortel Networks, said hiring a fresh leader during crises 'almost invites bad decisions' because a newcomer must act fast before fully grasping the business.’
[Sumber: The Straits Times]
