"The board considers Gannett stock to be an excellent investment.''
-- then-Chairman Doug McCorkindale in a Feb. 19, 2002, statement by the board of directors, announcing that current employees could finally sell Gannett shares in their 401(k) accounts. GCI closing price that day: $74.39. Shares continued to rise before peaking in early 2004. Closing price today: $8.71.
How much of this "excellent investment" is wrapped up in company pensions right now?
ReplyDeleteAh, those were the good old days, weren't they? Dreams of steak dinners and moonlight cruises.
ReplyDeleteFor those of us who still own this turkey of a stock (matching shares roll in a lot faster when it's selling below $10): Is there any way we can use our piece(s) of ownership to influence the board, other than voting against retaining them?
After Enron, Congress passed laws requiring executives to be truthful in their public statements to shareholders. Since this statement was clearly a lie, and McCorkindale knew it was when he adopted a program that forced employees to accept GCI stock in their 401k plans, eventually to phase out the traditional plan, we need a hungry lawyer to straighten things out for us.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of comments often posted in this blog -- but just in case you missed them: Always sell your corporate 401K match if it comes in stock, no matter what corporation you work for. You do NOT want a big chunk of your retirement tied up in the company for which you work, because you never know when things are going to go south. Sell your match and diversify. You absolutely need to do this for your own protection.
ReplyDeleteAnyone remember when McCorkindale retired the board gave him "CASH"
ReplyDeleteinstead of stock, supposedly because he already had so much stock.
Corporate has known for almost ten years the effect the internet was going to have on GCI, but they always thought they could buy their way in rather than innovating.
And now the poor employees are having to walk the plank due to decisions of McCorkindale,Curry,Sue Clark Jackson-Johnson and Watson among others.
Yet they all walked away extremly wealthy....will you?
1:49 - I know that NOW, but by the time I figured it out (I was a liberal arts major, finance is not my thing) the stock was in free fall. The last time I looked my holdings were worth roughly $1000. At these prices, I'm willing to hold onto it awhile longer, especially if I use it to make CeeDub sweat.
ReplyDeleteI'm new to the 401k program and the stock match, but I've read we can "dump" the Gannett stock after the company matches us.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know were to find information on how to do this? Is it done through the benefits site? Or do we roll it over into another investment?
Not surprisingly, directions for doing this is not on the benefits homepage.