Terry Lundgren Cuts Staff, Spends Plenty on Himself
Macy's announced plans earlier this week to lay off 7,000 workers as well as cut back on employees' retirement benefits. Last month, the struggling retail chain said it would shutter 11 of its 850 stores in the U.S. But the cutbacks don't appear to be impinging on company chief Terry Lundgren's jet-set lifestyle. Although Lundgren took a $2.5 million pay cut last year, the board helped make up for it by granting him a larger chunk of stock. (He earned a total of $14.4 million in compensation.) And despite Lundgren's claim to the press this week that "this is a time when nothing should be considered a sacred cow," his perks continue to cost the company a small fortune.
A source tells us that Lundgren insists that a make-up artist be on stand-by, just in case he requires a touch up before an important meeting or event. That's small potatoes, though, compared to Macy's corporate jet, which Lundgren reportedly uses for both business and personal travel, including weekend jaunts to sunny vacation spots. And there's no doubt that Lundgren can afford to look his best while serving up pink slips to thousands of employees. Per his employment agreement, the famously vain CEO is entitled to a special discount on Macy's and Bloomingdale's merchandise that is above and beyond the standard employee discount, a perquisite intended to "recognize" his "leadership level," according to the agreement.
We won't try to estimate how many jobs Macy's could have saved if Lundgren had been forced to use his $14 million salary to—God forbid—pay full price for clothes that have already been discounted by 70 percent, or if he had to take commercial planes to go on vacation instead of rely on the company's Gulfstream. But if you do the math, feel free to let us know!