There's always two sides to every story. For the past two weeks, the roar of the media, the government and the American public against American International Group Inc. (NYSE:AIG) for rewarding $165 million in bonuses has been heard loud and clear. But to hear the other side -- besides AIG's CEO Edward Liddy's congressional testimony -- has been uncommon.
The New York Times reveals one perspective through the resignation letter addressed to Liddy from Jake DeSantis, an executive vice president of the AIG Financial Products unit that is at the center of the controversy.
Here's an excerpt:
"Dear Mr. Liddy,
"It is with deep regret that I submit my notice of resignation from A.I.G. Financial Products. I hope you take the time to read this entire letter. Before describing the details of my decision, I want to offer some context:
"I am proud of everything I have done for the commodity and equity divisions of A.I.G.-F.P. I was in no way involved in -- or responsible for -- the credit default swap transactions that have hamstrung A.I.G. Nor were more than a handful of the 400 current employees of A.I.G.-F.P. Most of those responsible have left the company and have conspicuously escaped the public outrage.
"After 12 months of hard work dismantling the company -- during which A.I.G. reassured us many times we would be rewarded in March 2009 -- we in the financial products unit have been betrayed by A.I.G. and are being unfairly persecuted by elected officials. In response to this, I will now leave the company and donate my entire post-tax retention payment to those suffering from the global economic downturn. My intent is to keep none of the money myself.
"I take this action after 11 years of dedicated, honorable service to A.I.G. I can no longer effectively perform my duties in this dysfunctional environment, nor am I being paid to do so. Like you, I was asked to work for an annual salary of $1, and I agreed out of a sense of duty to the company and to the public officials who have come to its aid. Having now been let down by both, I can no longer justify spending 10, 12, 14 hours a day away from my family for the benefit of those who have let me down."
Click here to read more.
Do you sympathize with DeSantis? It depends on your perspective, but there are likely plenty of other employees like him at AIG, Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) and besieged financial institutions. In the end, it's likely when a DeSantis departs no one makes any gains because a company loses an experienced employee. -
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