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In reply to the discussion: What's killing Sears? Its own retirees, the CEO says [View all]Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)43. The deal with pensions is...employees often take LOWER PAY in return for a pension.
You can't have it both ways. The money it saved by not having to pay higher wages for many years no doubt enabled Sears to grow and prosper to the extent it did.
If they could go back in time, maybe Sears would not have a pension plan. But then, it would have to outlay a lot of money in wages, instead.
Sears should have shut its doors a few years ago. The retail industry has changed. Sears can't compete, and I don't see how that has anything to do with its pension plan.
It can get rid of the pension payments if it files for bankrtupcy, I guess, couldn't it? Sears...it's over.
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What he doesn't say is pensions are in lieu of higher wages...employers pay less now, pay more
Fred Sanders
Sep 2018
#4
Excellent analysis. I worked in the junk bond (euphemistically called "High Yield") world for awhile
erronis
Sep 2018
#23
Sure it is the fault of employees because the employer didn't set the pension funding aside.
LiberalFighter
Sep 2018
#6
Didn't Enron invest its pension funds in Enron stock? Employees pension - kaput.
keithbvadu2
Sep 2018
#62
I worked with several very large corporations that didn't think this internet thing was real.
erronis
Sep 2018
#60
Simply put,if you go back enough years SEARS thought they had the World by the ASS...
Bengus81
Sep 2018
#53
What killed Sears? One word only..Walmart. Hey- it's the truth. Don't blame me.,,,
Stuart G
Sep 2018
#25
Actually the problem is executive management and shareholder greed compensation.
democratisphere
Sep 2018
#26
The deal with pensions is...employees often take LOWER PAY in return for a pension.
Honeycombe8
Sep 2018
#43
Every Sears former employee on a pension owes Eddie a hugeeeee apology for screwing up his Company!!
Bengus81
Sep 2018
#51
"If in fact Sears does go bankrupt..." other than pension dollars... other benefits such as medical
keithbvadu2
Sep 2018
#71