Thread regarding Optum layoffs

Executives making millions per year, but we pay the price...

Executive compensation for publicly traded corporations is public information. Below are a few examples of what UHG executives are pulling in (from 2018 FY):

https://www1.salary.com/UNITEDHEALTH-GROUP-INC-Executive-Salaries.html

John F Rex - $8,587,912 Total Compensation
Steven H Nelson - $9,763,024 Total Compensation
Stephen J Hemsley - $11,071,498 Total Compensation
David S Wichmann - $18,107,356 Total Compensation
Andrew P Witty - $21,232,550 Total Compensation

These 5 executives alone account for over 68 million dollars in compensation for the year. This total amount equates to roughly 1,375 $50,000 jobs, but you won't see them significantly reduce their total compensation. Instead, they will lay off the hard working folks who interface with our customers on a daily basis, and keep the lights on for the corporation.

Pay attention to the stock awards each executive received as well. This is why executives hold so much interest in shareholders/investors, and will gut company staffing to appeal to investors.

This is a common theme with corporate executives. Corporate greed is causing more companies to lay off staff to fluff their profit margins for investors, to increase stock pricing, and line their own pockets with stock option compensation.

Just to put this into perspective, Mr. Witty's total compensation, averaged over a year, made over 58K a DAY (calendar day, not business day) – roughly the same, or more than a lot of folks make during the entire YEAR.

An image which seems to represent our situation pretty well:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CFoSUleUUAAUdJZ.png:large

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Post ID: @OP+120G1uKx

7 replies (most recent on top)

I heard they are about $500m behind, so cutting the workforce and off-shoring as much as possible (India & Philippines). I bet leadership is scrambling to save their bonuses, so dumping employees before reviews/bonus rounds. Happy holidays!

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Post ID: @pef+120G1uKx

This company is a "tech" company still operating like a corp a-hole from yesteryear.. it's based on a business corp model from the 80s/90s. Too bad they cant/wont clean house in the upper ranks, if they did so and hired a more future forward leaders, they could turn it around. But they're more likely to drive this company into the ground instead. They won't be able to stay competitive, their best minds are leaving the company. And when they do fail, they'll likely be bailed out by the govn b/c they are now "too big to fail."

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Post ID: @ntl+120G1uKx

"The best presentation I've ever seen!"
https://youtu.be/aocZo3oeNxw

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Post ID: @fdc+120G1uKx

Optum & UHG leadership only know how to speak in jargon. There's no real content, vision, plan, just endless empty jargon in presentation after presentation

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Post ID: @ont+120G1uKx

The leadership at Optum does not represent talent which will take the company into the future. They lack vision and a plan. They do not merit the salaries they make b/c their contributions are not cutting edge and often unethical. This company touts itself as a leader in tech, but the leadership are not tech. They are just MBA fluff. They are definitely over paid.

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Post ID: @nxr+120G1uKx

The other side of the coin is that this is a public company that is owned by the shareholders, who elect board of directors to go out and get the best executives they can for the amount they are willing to pay to get those people instead of other competing companies. You can give top management no money and all the employees a few hundred dollars extra but you risk having id–ts run the company into the ground, with profit losses that result in layoffs. As long as the company is making profit and growing meeting expectations by any means necessary the major shareholders they will keep the mgmt team and at high prices to boot If they do not they are gone. Of course all the guys who make it to that level never have to worry about money or working again, if they would like and can always find another smaller lesser known company that will let them be an executive. I do believe the compensation has gotten out of hand but blame the market and this is the USA and if someone is willing to pay you that then that is your current worth.

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Post ID: @mnq+120G1uKx

We know executive pay and blind devotion to share price is a problem, but what can be done? Workers, even highly educated, hard working employees with proven track records, suffer under a toxic feeling that no matter what they do, there is no job security. You can be out tomorrow. It’s not healthy. And we just hand over our talent constantly to our competitors. The majority of our good employees who get laid off will go to a competitor which is why we have more competition coming from every angle all of the time.

I used to think there was a vision to all of this chaos, but I think the only vision is greed.

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Post ID: @eey+120G1uKx

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