Let the Exodus Begin…

Jake DeSantis may have been the most public buts he’s not the only one at AIG Finacial Products who’s cleaning out his desk:

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Several more employees are leaving the controversial financial products unit that brought American International Group Inc to its knees last year, according to a person with knowledge of developments there.

The resignations are in addition to the “handful” of senior AIG Financial Products executives who have already given notice, said the person, who could not quantify the total number of departures.

To date, AIG said the situation at the financial products unit remains “manageable,” despite the departures. But if too many employees quit, Chief Executive Edward Liddy has warned it could be disastrous for AIG and, ultimately, for U.S. taxpayers who are the insurer’s majority owners.

The financial products division incurred heavy mark-to- market losses on credit default swaps, a type of derivative that guarantees underlying debt against default, after the downturn in the U.S. housing market, leaving AIG so severely short of cash the U.S. government had to step in with a rescue that has since grown as large as $180 billion.

The credit default business was only a part of the financial products division, which is being shut down.

Employees there were promised retention payments more than a year ago, on condition they stayed long enough to wind down their areas of business, effectively working themselves out of a job.

But now some have changed their minds, fed up after 10 days of ridicule and scorn from lawmakers who broadly derided the bonuses, demonstrators picketing outside AIG offices and a threat by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to publicly name anyone who did not return the bonuses.

Who can them they were promised retention bonuses  before  the government bailed out AIG and now they’re being crucified by the media and by politicians who are more interested in leading a lynch mob than governing intelligently.

Related

• AIG Fights a Fire at Its Paris Unit – Wall Street Journal
• Zeal for battle over bonuses waning in Washington – Associated Press

NYT: Dear A.I.G., I Quit!

I hope Barack Obama, Timothy Geithner, Nancy Pelosi, Barney Frank, Chris Dood, Andrew Cuomo, Richard Blumenthal and all the pundits who have lead the AIG lynch mob are happy now:

The following is a letter sent on Tuesday by Jake DeSantis, an executive vice president of the American International Group’s financial products unit, to Edward M. Liddy, the chief executive of A.I.G.

DEAR Mr. Liddy,

It is with deep regret that I submit my notice of resignation from A.I.G. Financial Products. I hope you take the time to read this entire letter. Before describing the details of my decision, I want to offer some context:

I am proud of everything I have done for the commodity and equity divisions of A.I.G.-F.P. I was in no way involved in — or responsible for — the credit default swap transactions that have hamstrung A.I.G. Nor were more than a handful of the 400 current employees of A.I.G.-F.P. Most of those responsible have left the company and have conspicuously escaped the public outrage.

After 12 months of hard work dismantling the company — during which A.I.G. reassured us many times we would be rewarded in March 2009 — we in the financial products unit have been betrayed by A.I.G. and are being unfairly persecuted by elected officials. In response to this, I will now leave the company and donate my entire post-tax retention payment to those suffering from the global economic downturn. My intent is to keep none of the money myself.

I take this action after 11 years of dedicated, honorable service to A.I.G. I can no longer effectively perform my duties in this dysfunctional environment, nor am I being paid to do so. Like you, I was asked to work for an annual salary of $1, and I agreed out of a sense of duty to the company and to the public officials who have come to its aid. Having now been let down by both, I can no longer justify spending 10, 12, 14 hours a day away from my family for the benefit of those who have let me down.

In a sane world Jake DeSantis’s letter would shame those who have lead the charge to unfairly tar and feather the many good people at AIG… The sad reality is none them will even understand its significance.

Related

• Drive to Tax AIG Bonuses Slows – Wall Street Journal
• Resigned – Mark Steyn
• When they came for AIG – Powerline
• I Hope They Are Happy – Jennifer Rubin
• AIG Executive Resigns, Says Why – Red State
• Going Galt at AIG – Hot Air