Kodak Retirees Protest Benefit Cuts
Companies don't always deliver on the retirement benefits promised to their employees. Kodak announced in August that it would no longer pay for dental coverage or life insurance for retirees beginning in 2009. The camera company also plans to shift more health insurance premium costs to retirees and phase out employer-paid medical coverage for dependents over the next 10 years.
The retired Kodak workers decided to stage a protest. About 70 retirees picketed outside the company's corporate headquarters last week to protest the cuts, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports. Rochester-based TV station R News captured a video of the former workers marching with signs lamenting the loss of their promised benefits. More than 200 Kodak retirees held a similar protest outside Kodak Tower in September.
Kodak spent $44 million on postretirement benefits in the second quarter of 2008, according to an earnings report filed in July with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the company expects to spend an additional $112 million this year. "We feel that our approach strikes the right balance between individual and company interests," Kodak said in a statement about the benefit cuts. "Keeping Kodak competitive is the best thing we can do for employees and retirees."
Tags: health insurance | retirement
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Reader Comments
Failed promises
Isn't it nice that Kodak has the ability to choose what they do with their money. Should hard-working, loyal employees and retirees get health coverage and retirements they were promised? Or perhaps Kodak would like to look nice and give their money for lavish expenses.
For example, Kodak is happy to contribute a million dollars to The PGA Golf Tournament, and also happy to contribute 50 million dollars annually to NASCAR.
Cutting retirees and CURRENT employees health care benefits to dependents is NOT the correct answer. C'mon Kodak, you must have some intelligent people still employed after years of cutbacks. Even though you are cutting corners at every small Kodak plant in the country, someone must be educated and capable enough to make smart and fair decisions.
In my early twenties I now have the burden of taking on Kodak's responsibilities and failed promises. I will be adding my parents to my own health insurance. One of my parents, a cancer survivor (and current Kodak employee of over 31 years), and the other fighting a terminal cancer diagnosis, will hopefully find fairness and learn to trust another company when they make a "promise."
Thank you Kodak for being so loyal to your employees. I think I will buy Polaroid from now on.
Retirement benefits
We were told, for many years, to plan for our retirement, to save, to keep healthy and Kodak would provide Retirement Benefits and Spousal Benefits in our retirement years. I did as they advised and thought that my wife and I would be ok in our retirement years. Now, Kodak wants to pull the plug on its benefits plan for the people who gave many years of service to Kodak. Benefits is one key reason people work for a company. Salaries are only a part of compensation, but if the benefits plan is good you accept a slightly lower salary. Kodak is taking unfair advantage of its retirees in enacting these changes. Once a person is retired, their benefits and retirement income from the company should be set in stone. If Kodak wanted to change these benefits then some compensation should be given to account for putting us into the poor farm. I know I'm not alone in these feelings!
Retirement Benefits
I feel the same way as the rest of the retires. A promise is a promise.At least it used to be.
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