Urging Against Layoffs, CEO Makes Bold Plea to Keep Employees Working
Steven Korman, CEO of Korman Communities, is making a bold plea to other CEOs to keep employees working. And he’s putting his money where his mouth is by taking out ads to underscore the importance of dealing with real people, not just profits. A copy of the letter/ad that has run in the Philadelphia Inquirer and The New York Times is below:
Dear CEOs:
I have listened to the executives of many companies say that they are eliminating thousands of jobs to “improve the bottom line.”
I own stock in many of these companies and would prefer that the company make a smaller profit and the stock fall, in the short term, rather than affect the lives of our neighbors and their families as jobs are lost.
Please join me in reminding all CEOs that we are not just dealing with numbers and profit, but with real people and real families who need to keep their jobs.
Please keep your employees working.
Steven H. Korman
CEO and Chairman of the Board
Korman Communities
Kormancommunities.com
Steven has received overwhelmingly positive feedback since the campaign launched last week with emails from nearly 100 people thus far. One email read: Reading something like this gives me hope and makes me feel as if we are all in this together – from those making lots to those just getting by. You understand that what Americans want is a chance to work, to put food on our tables and to contribute, not to be “bailed out.” Thank you for your message. I hope that other CEOs follow your example very soon.
Steven’s efforts go beyond this bold ad campaign. He is taking a grassroots, aggressive approach and sending similarly-themed letters via Fed Ex to over a dozen CEOs at major corporations whose stock he owns (the likes of Apple, Exxon Mobil, GE, Google, Oracle, etc.).
Steven has been profiled in the Philadelphia Inquirer where his company is based, and interviewed in a local ABC broadcast segment. The newspaper has been overwhelmed with reader responses calling Steve their hero, offering a renewed sense of hope, and hoping that his words will spark a trend.
This campaign and outreach comes from the heart. Steven is someone who cares about people. For 17 years he personally funded and staffed a van that drove around Center City Philadelphia to feed the homeless. On Christmas Eve each year Steven goes to a toy store in an underprivileged neighborhood to see who is struggling to buy gifts and hands over cash to make opening gifts on Christmas morning a reality. In 2007, the Steven Korman Nutrition Center opened to support MANNA, a local organization that provides nourishment to people coping with life-threatening illnesses.
For more information, please contact Michelle Abril, Quinn & Co.; mabril@quinnandco.com or 212-868-1900 x237.