November/December 1995 Issue

The Axmen Cometh

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Corporate America describes “downsizing” as a bitter pill we must swallow–massive layoffs and all–to make business lean, mean, and globally competitive. At the helm is a new breed of chief executive, hired just to fire employees by the thousands. But does downsizing extend up the ladder? See what you think.

Downsizer: George Fisher

Company: Eastman Kodak

Number of jobs cut: 14,100 (1993-94)

Company line: “This company is interested in profits, returns, and improved margins…the necessary increases in productivity will require painful measures.”

CEO pay before cuts: $1,890,000

CEO’s new pay: $3,901,000

CEO comment: “Rather than simply take an ax to budgets and manpower, we are trying to change, in significant ways, how this company operates.I It’s not going to be business as usual. There is a new Kodak, and it is moving swiftly to achieve profitable growth.”

Downsizer: Michael H. Jordan

Company: Westinghouse Electric

Number of jobs cut: 4,900 (1994-95)

Company line: “We are taking actions to improve our operating performance, accelerate the divestiture of noncore businesses, rebuild our equity base, and improve financial flexibility.”

CEO pay before cuts: $713,400

CEO’s new pay: $1,357,000

CEO comment: “It’s not just today’s purge or tomorrow’s purge. Each business has to continually redefine itself to be competitive, more competitive on a go-forward basis. “So people want to know, when is this going to stop? The answer is: never.”

Downsizer: Albert J. Dunlap

Company: Scott Paper

Number of jobs cut: 10,500 (1994)

Company line: “To swiftly transform the culture at Scott, the world’s largest tissue manufacturer, to a fast-moving, low-cost, customer-oriented producer of quality tissue products.”

CEO pay before cuts: $618,000

CEO’s new pay: $3,575,500

CEO comment: “I believe that through this program, we will strongly position Scott as a decisive, results-oriented business focused on serving our customers while pursuing our number one priority: increasing shareholder value.”

Downsizer: Louis Gerstner

Company: IBM

Number of jobs cut: 36,000 (1994)

Company line: “To streamline the company…the restructuring changes will cover reductions in IBM’s worldwide workforce, manufacturing capacity, office space, and related expenses.”

CEO pay before cuts: $2,800,000

CEO’s new pay: $4,600,000

CEO comment: “It’s too easy to talk only of numbers and head count and restructuring changes and to forget the impact on people. Those who left IBM made substantial contributions when they were here, for which we are all grateful.”

WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

payment methods

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