Ready, Aye, Ready

Link: http://news.wired.com/dynamic/stories/I/IBM_OVERTIME_PAY?SITE=WIRE&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2008-01-23-10-59-00&reload=true

IBM recently lost a suit from some of their employees seeking to redress unpaid overtime. What was IBM's reaction? They decided to cut wages to compensate.

You can just see a senior manager thinking to themselves: y'know, if I reduce hourly pay rates, I can afford to pay overtime and not see an increase in my wage costs. Apparently hiring more staff, reducing excess work or perhaps just paying appropriately didn't figure into their calculations. Their spokesman's comment:

IBM spokesman Fred McNeese said the move would not save the company any money, because the affected employees generally should find that overtime pay makes up for the salary cut.

Excellent. IBM gets *more* work out of their employees without having to pay an extra penny, and in fact saves some by paying fewer benefits due to the lower base salary. And these people are supposed to be trusted to regulate themselves?

The kicker:

Even as IBM Corp. reports record profits, thousands of its U.S. employees are staring at pay cuts.

Why would any company want to share its wealth with the people responsible for doing the work that generated it? That's freakin' socialism. Asses.