05/09/2001

Marconi shareholders furious at pay-off for departing CEO

Shareholders at Marconi have expressed fury at a possible £1 million pay-off to the departing chief executive of the troubled UK telecoms equipment manufacturer.

Marconi shocked the markets on Tuesday by announcing a further 2,000 job cuts on top of the 8,000 already announced earlier this year.

In a statement revealing a shake-up aimed at restoring profitability, the company revealed that chairman Sir Roger Hurn and chief executive Lord Simpson had resigned with immediate effect.

However, it later emerged that Lord Simpson could receive a pay-off of up to £1 million, despite the recent poor performance by the company.

Reflecting a number of shareholders feelings on the matter, an editorial in The Daily Telegraph newspaper said that the company should pay Lord Simpson until the end of the month and then let him sue the company if he wanted any more money.

However, city workers were more sympathetic, saying that Lord Simpson's salary would have already been heavily depleted by the fall in the Marconi share price. (MB)

Related Northern Ireland Business News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

17 December 2018
InterTradeIreland Announce Funding Advisory Workshops
InterTradeIreland have announced a series of free funding advisory workshops for small and medium-sized enterprises.
25 October 2018
Techstart Academy Announce Product Management Workshop
The Techstart Academy has announced an event in Belfast on 22 November, which aims to "bring to life" the fundamentals of product management and best practices to drive product success.
11 November 2010
Firms Win InterTradeIreland Competition
Two NI firms have excelled in what is the largest business competition on the island of Ireland - Seedcorn 2010. Run by InterTradeIreland, the organisation that supports small and medium-sized businesses across Ireland for better North/South trade and business development, it offers a total prize fund of €280,000.
09 July 2009
Arntz Belting Heads For Trouble
The future for a struggling Pennyburn fan belt factory, which currently employs around 110 people, is looking bleak. The manufacturing plant, Arntz Belting Company, went to a three-day week in December and also sought 28 redundancies in March. However, the global recession has led to the firm's parent company looking at further cuts.
14 November 2007
NI Enterprise Celebrated
As part of National Enterprise Week, Invest Northern Ireland - in association with Ulster Bank - has hosted a Celebration of Enterprise gala dinner at which several local entrepreneurs were honoured for their contribution to business.