Excuse Me

AIG: We are contractually bound to make bonus payments to these traders.

Dan: The sanctity of a signed contract is fundamental to our way of life. But… My employer is able to abrogate my employment contact with little difficulty. If, for example, I was working in the USA, my pay would already have been reduced by 10%. Luckily, I have a European contract, so my working conditions and pay cannot be changed without my consent. Unluckily, in Switzerland, where I live, if I don’t give my consent I can be sacked with 3 months notice. So, if my employer can change my pay without worry, why can’t AIG change their employee contracts? Should I have worked in a division that destroyed the company? Would that have protected my pay?

AIG: We need these people to wind down the business. If we don’t give them bonuses, they’ll go elsewhere.

Dan: Really? Where? Is there actually business demand for employees with a track record of total, abject, wretched failure? Do we have any enemy that might hire them? (I can hope.)

AIG: If we don't pay these bonuses, these traders will leave and use their knowledge elsewhere to undermine our effort to wind this mess down.

Dan: There is a word for this: blackmail.