According to Harold Meyerson at the Washington Post, the bankruptcy of the Tribune Company will end up screwing over its employees but protecting Sam Zell, the guy who ran the company into the ground. I need one of you business types to explain something for me:
Due to the vagaries of bankruptcy law, writes business analyst Mark Lacter on laobserved.com, that means that Zell has better protection for his stake than all his employees. Trib’s ESOP holds 100 percent of the company common equity – and it’s the holders of common stock who usually take a bath, or get wiped out altogether, in the debt restructuring that goes on under Chapter 11.
How does this work, exactly? How is it that the employees own 100% of the stock but have no say whatsoever in the running of the company? How can this guy just loot everybody's savings? I ask because I want to know what I'm getting into should I change jobs and get an offer from a company with a similar setup... perhaps I'd choose to pass from such a deal...