• dynamojoe@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    To borrow some investor speak: “Past performance is no guarantee of future results.” However in this case, it absolutely does. The drive to squeeze even one more drop of blood is relentless and in many cases it’s required. Boards must do what’s best for the company or they risk lawsuits from shareholders. They cannot deviate from a maximum-extraction plan (either profits or market share) without very good reasons. Each one of those companies has to do better year over year, or explain to the board/shareholders/media/etc why they did not.

    How they get those profits up can be cutting pay, “restructuring” (layoffs), optimization, price increases, cheaper supply, better methods, etc. Most of this list will be the same next year and the numbers will be higher. Hate the game.

    • cloud_punk@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      It’s perfectly evil system as nobody has to take moral accountability. The board has to make the best decisions for the shareholders and the shareholders don’t run the company, just invest in it. It’s what my mind goes to when oil companies claim that they are doing their part for climate change.

      • DreamlandLividity@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        Well, you almost see the issue. Its the government that was supposed to take moral accountability. It was supposed to set minimum wages, environmental standards and other rules under which corpos cude try to increase profits.

        But oil companies figured out they can distract people by pitting them against each other or by making them “protest the companies” and “vote with their wallets”, which never had any chance of doing anything. And then most companies followed suit.