Lost In America

And so, to make the problem go away, Hewlett-Packard is going to spend twenty-eight million dollars and some stock. That problem is former CEO, Mark Hurd. Mister Hurd resigned just as the angry villagers reached his gates, bearing torches and pitchforks, and allegations of sexual harassment, falsified expense reports, and concealing a relationship with an outside contractor. This is the same person who was only recently negotiating a new three-year contract for one hundred million dollars.
Sometimes it helps if you break a situation up into little pieces to help understand it better. This guy will now be paid roughly one third of his asking price for not working for Hewlett-Packard. That means they will be saving two thirds of that money to pay the next person they hire. It's a cost-cutting measure, see? It's the same kind of thing that Mark Hurd was so well known for as CEO. He cut costs, and jobs, and over the past five years, helped the company become the number one technology company. It should be noted that he did say that he was willing to pay back any of the disputed expenses. A pretty easy assertion coming from a guy who is about to make thirty million dollars for quitting his job.
I'm guessing that many of those people whose jobs were eliminated by Mister Hurd would like to be able to make a similar deal for salary and stock, but you know, times are tough and we all have to tighten our belts these days. And maybe if Mister Hurd had kept his belt buckled he might not be looking for work right now: maybe something from the "hundred thousand dollar box?"