Jay Honeck wrote:

Agreed -- but, remember, George was referring to MIDDLE level managers
making that kind of money.

Yes. Our structure was that up to 15 people or so would be managed by a "Director".
Directors were managed by "Executive Directors". Executive Directors would be under
"Vice Presidents", with the CEO on top of the heap. Director salaries tended to start
about $80K and top out about $125K. Executive Directors started about $100K and might
possibly reach $190K. I was not made aware of the salaries of the CEO or AVPs. There
were also bonuses which were based on product sales ("performance-based pay", it was
called). If the product for which an ED was responsible did well that year, that ED's
salary could well be over $250K, even if the rest of the company was in dire
straights. That, of course, led to near-warfare between EDs as the situation
degenerated.

Also, if I recall, George was in the telecommunications industry. With the
increased competition in that field, the profit margins are way down.

Actually, with the exception of wireless, the competition wasn't a big factor. The
dotcom crash reduced demand for land-based equipment, including lines, servers,
multiplexing equipment, fiber, etc.. Suddenly the companies went from scrambling to
install more plant to having a surplus. Since much of our work was producing programs
to help companies efficiently plan for expansion, demand for our products took a
nosedive. We could've handled reduced profit margins, but when sales drop by 75% or
more, people have to go.

In the wireless technology field, however, competition was a big factor, and it is as
Jay stated. Sales were not good there, mainly because our owners factored an
exorbitant profit into the cost.

George Patterson
If you don't tell lies, you never have to remember what you said.