Saturday, February 24, 2007

Employee Stock Ownership Plan at Tribune

If the uneasy feelings among Pressroom Employees, at the Tribune’s Los Angeles Times property, are to be used as a gauge for all Tribune workers, it could be best described as in a state of uncertainty.

Speculation on what direction the Tribune Company chooses will be answered sometime next month. With employees wondering if that path will be beneficial to themselves or the board members.

Two weeks ago billionaire real-estate mogul, Sam Zell, entered the picture, and proposed this morning in Chicago to using the tax breaks given to ESOP’s. The Zell proposal would create a privately held company, and give a larger payoff to existing shareholders.

What the tax consequences will be for the employees is anyone’s guest, if we receive a large payoff from this latest proposal?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The scariest part is what is to become of our retirement? Our ESOP is tied into that.My guess is that the big guys win and we're going to be on the short end.
The next question is are we going to get paid off in cash or promises?