Most Americans today take it for granted that the workplace is unbearably stressful, fearful, and organized to transfer much of the wealth up to a tiny, privileged class of executives and shareholders at the expense of the many. But it wasn't always that way. Long before Neutron Jack, General Electric's stated relationship to their employees was deliberately paternalistic, respectful, secure, and symbiotic. In 1962, right around the time that young Jack Welch joined GE, Earl S. Willis, the manager of employee benefits at General Electric, wrote, Maximizing employment security is a prime company goal. Later, he wrote, The employee who can plan his economic future with reasonable certainty is an employer's most productive asset. Contrast this to Jack Welch, who bragged after one hundred twenty-eight thousand firings, one hundred twenty-eight thousand potentially ruined families, that only the buildings remained standing. Oh, and his billion dollars in savings, his $15 million annual pension, and his company 737.
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About Jack Welch
Jack Welch was a 20th-century American business executive. John Francis Welch Jr. was an American business executive. Read more on Wikipedia →