Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Pay Limits Don't Send Executives Elsewhere

From the NY Times:

Of the 104 senior executives whose pay was set by the federal pay regulator in the last two years, 88 executives, or nearly 85 percent, are still with the companies even though their pay was drastically cut back, according to people briefed on the government data.

The relative stability, at least within the executive suite, suggests that a soft job market, corporate loyalty and personal pride helped deter the feared management exodus at the companies hardest hit by the pay rules.

Part of the lack of fight is the job market. However, even in a robust job market I don't think we'd see this number below say 65% at the worst. In short, once someone is over a certain amount/year they're fine.