In a world where thousands are fired for "poor performance", America’s top executives are rewarded for failure — with millions.

Introduction: When Failure Pays

Corporate America touts “performance-based pay”, claiming executives earn their millions by driving company success. Yet, when CEOs make catastrophic decisions, oversee plummeting stock prices, or preside over mass layoffs, they rarely face consequences. Instead, they are promoted, protected, and paid handsomely. Failure isn't punished — it's rewarded.

Welcome to the upside-down world of executive accountability, where failing upwards isn't the exception — it's the system's default.

Golden Parachutes, Rotten Results

Even CEOs ousted for poor performance walk away richer than most Americans will ever be.

David Zaslav (Warner Bros. Discovery) earned $51.9 million in 2024, despite a 59% drop in the company's stock value since its formation in 2022 and ongoing challenges in its cable business. Shareholders voted against his pay package, but the vote was non-binding. Meanwhile, mass layoffs at Warner Bros. Discovery have become routine, with nearly 1,000 employees cut in 2024 alone.

Chris Kempczinski (McDonald's) received over $17.8 million in 2024, while the company faced labor violations, lawsuits, and stagnant wages for frontline staff. For broader context on how CEO pay has surged while worker wages stagnate, see this PBS NewsHour report.

Carlos Tavares (Stellantis) earned $39.5 million in 2024, during a year the company cut thousands of jobs and clashed with unions over fair contracts.

These aren't anomalies. They're patterns.

When the Stock Tanks — They Still Cash Out

Most CEO pay is tied to stock performance. But here's the trick: it's based on share price at grant time, not when they actually "earn" it. And boards often re-price stock options or shift benchmarks to make sure execs hit their targets. For a deeper dive into how stock options and compensation schemes favor executives over workers, see this Harvard Law School Forum article.

For instance, despite a 39% decline in Delta's stock value in 2025, CEO Ed Bastian received $34.2 million in 2023, the highest among airline industry CEOs. His compensation package did not include metrics related to operational safety.

Boards Built to Protect, Not Challenge

Corporate boards — the ones supposedly keeping CEOs in check — are often filled with loyalists, former executives, or industry peers. Their job isn't to hold power accountable. It's to maintain it. For more on why corporate boards fail workers and protect executives, see the same Harvard Law School Forum article.

And when shareholders or workers protest?

• Executives circle the wagons.

• PR teams spin it as "strategic restructuring."

• The payout continues.

The Real Cost of CEO Immunity

"Failing upward" isn’t just expensive — it’s destructive. While executives collect bonuses and bounce to their next gig, workers absorb the fallout:

• Speak up? Get silenced.

• Push back? Get laid off.

• Meanwhile, some companies are filing for bankruptcy three times and still keeping the same playbook — and often, the same leadership.

PwC’s outlook shows just how broken the system is.

Final Thoughts: Performance For Who?

If workers were held to the same standards as CEOs, none of us would survive a single quarter.

This isn't about one bad boss — it's a system-wide con where accountability flows down, and rewards flow up. For the latest data and stats on the executive pay gap, see PBS NewsHour. And for real-world stories on ghosting and rejections, visit TheLayoff.com.

It's time we stop measuring "performance" by how many jobs were cut or how high the stock jumped for a week.

And start asking: Who really earned what?

#FailingUpwards #GoldenParachutes #OpenToGhosting

👉 If “failing upward” made you flinch, wait until you see the paycheck: CEOs Cash Out While Workers Starve

Disclaimer:

The content on this site is for informational and commentary purposes only and reflects the author's personal opinions. It does not constitute financial, legal, or professional advice. All data sources are cited where applicable. Stories shared by users or sourced from public forums are anonymized and presented for illustrative purposes only.