Safeco turnaround at employees’ expense

Mike McGavick likes to tell people that as CEO of Safeco, he helped turn the company around. This is true, but at what cost?

Before he took over at Safeco, he was president and chief operating officer for Chicago-based CNA Commercial Insurance. While there, McGavick cut costs in his unit by $100 million annually and slashed 1,100 jobs.

When he got to Safeco, he knew that expenses were too high and he knew that the only way to fix that would be to cut jobs. He knew it to begin with, but still chose to be dishonest with his employees by reassuring them that job cuts weren’t in the foreseeable future.

Then he cut 1,700 jobs between 2001 and 2003, which shouldn’t have been a surprise, given his track record. After the layoffs, he accepted $4 million in bonuses, and another $28 million upon departure from Safeco.

So, yes, he did help turn Safeco around. But only at the expense of his employees did he make the company, and himself, rich.

Is that the kind of guy we want in the Senate? The kind that puts profit before people?

Suzanne Schaefer

Arlington