Newspaper Article

Corporations' Longevity Awards Get Short Shrift in New Climate

By Alex Markels and Joann S. Lublin

1995

Overview

Del Wallick wears his pride under his sleeve. A handshake reveals his prized wristwatch, given to mark his 25th anniversary with Timken Co. \"I only take it off to shower and sleep,\" he says. The hallways of Mr. Wallick's home in Canton, Ohio, are filled with an array of certificates marking the milestones in his 31-year career as a Timken steel-mill worker. Down in his recreation room, a mantel clock that he and his wife picked out from a Timken gift catalog rests atop the family television set. The roster of companies reducing or eliminating longevity-reward programs in recent years includes some well-known names: International Business Machines Corp., Scott Paper Co., Merck & Co. and American Express Co. According to an American Management Association survey conducted for The Wall Street Journal, 14.2% of the 522 responding companies that reward, or once rewarded, longevity either reduced or eliminated such programs in the past five years.

• Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc
• Subject: Employees / Employment contracts / Layoffs / Workers