Deals
Great Firings in History: A Celebration
What are the greatest firings in history? And do Carol Bartz and Oswald Grübel make the cut?
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There’s been a lot of Sturm und Drang in the American corporate boardroom recently. Carol Bartz, the now former CEO of Yahoo!, was fired by the board’s chairman—by phone. Ms. Bartz thought this shabby exit etiquette and wasted no time ventilating her displeasure, telling Fortune: “These people f—– me over.” She described them as “the worst board in the country,” and—for good measure—“doofuses.” As the famous telegram put it: “F— YOU. STRONG LETTER FOLLOWS.”
Refreshing as it is to hear straight talk from our business leaders, these comments could prove costly to Ms. Bartz, inasmuch as she had a “non-disparagement clause” in her contracts. Ten million dollars is a steep price for a little steam venting.