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Greedy EDO’s CEO Exposed!

analyst | 30.08.2006 18:26 | Analysis | Anti-militarism | South Coast

Independent Financial News

Wednesday August 30th 2006

(NYSE: EDO) With so much negative news lately, of various EDO Corporation director’s corruption scandals, the unrelenting pressure on EDO MBM by protesters in the UK, and on top of this a 25% decline of the arms company’s market value on Wall Street since the loss of a pivotal UK High Court civil suit in the spring, it would be reasonable to assume that the man who takes the biggest salary in the company, might if he’s determined not to resign, at least see see fit to take a pay cut.

However, an annual report published today, by two long established US economic research groups, the Institute for Policy Studies, and United for a Fair Economy, has named EDO Corporation’s CEO and President James M. Smith, as number ‘9’ in the ‘war on terror’ profiteers greed list.

The annual ‘Executive Excess’ report shows that Smith’s personal profit has risen from a a paltry $883,200 US dollars per annum, in 2001, to $1,783,700 in 2005.

Considering each year between 2002-2005, EDO Corp's CEO has gained $5,820,000 on top of the value of his pay as it stood before the ‘war on terror’ began. The figure is the total direct compensation, and ‘covers salary, bonus, gains from options exercises, other long term payouts and the value of restricted shares at the time of the grant’.

The report states, ‘CEO’s of the biggest defense contractors continue to profit from privatized war. Since the ‘War on Terror’ began CEO’s of the top 34 defense companies have enjoyed average pay levels that are double the amounts they received during the years leading up to 9/11.’ The report shows that ‘average compensation jumped from 3.6million dollars to 7.2 million dollars.’

In a July 2006 investor’s Q&A phone in session relayed on the internet via the EDO Corp website, EDO Corp. CEO and President James M. Smith, announced he had cut 400 jobs from one of EDO Corporation’s Californian factories after his company had failed to gain a lucrative contract for anti-IED devices from the US military. However Smith continues to pay himself $1,783,700 per year to run the company.


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‘Executive Excess’ report:  http://www.faireconomy.org/reports/2006/ExecutiveExcess2006.pdf
Protests
 http://www.smashedo.org.uk

analyst
- Homepage: http://www.faireconomy.org/reports/2006/ExecutiveExcess2006.pdf