Paul Sassone

Dear President-Elect Trump:

Congratulations on saving all those jobs at Carrier that were going to be moved to Mexico. And it only cost us $7 million.

I was wondering whether you intend to only stop layoffs of employees whose jobs are to be sent to another country. Or, will you also prevent layoffs by corporations who want a bigger bottom line by getting rid of workers?

If you are contemplating both types of employee rescues, may I respectfully recommend you start with Mylan NV.

You may remember that this corporation makes EpiPen, an injection device used to counteract severe allergic reactions. Earlier this year, Mylan raised the price of an EpiPen two-pack to $608, a 500 percent increase in price since 2007. Many people who need this life-saving device cannot afford to buy them anymore.

This price gouging outraged America. And even Congress slated hearings on the matter. Mylan refused to attend a Congressional hearing that was scheduled for November.

And recently, Mylan agreed to pay $465 million for EpiPen over-billing Medicare.

The company’s stock price has suffered from all this horrendous publicity. Mylan’s bad reputation and decreased value seems to me to be the result of bad management decisions.

And how is Mylan planning to recoup the situation? By saving money from laying off 3,500 employees — 10 percent of its workforce.

These 3,500 people did nothing wrong. The decisions that damaged the company were made by its top executives, who will not be among the 3,500 workers (and their families) that will pay the price for bad decision-making, bad management.

So, Mr. President-Elect I am asking you to save these workers, at least the ones who work in the United States.

How?

I don’t know that America can afford to keep bribing bad employers as you did with Carrier.

But your Republican Party controls both houses of Congress.

It shouldn’t be too hard to pass legislation requiring that when corporate layoffs are contemplated solely, or primarily, to boost a sagging bottom line, that the layoffs start at the top.

Lay off the top executives. That is eminently fair because they are the ones who got the corporation in trouble in the first place. Such an approach also is cost-effective. Since executives make so much money fewer of them would have to be laid off to bolster the bottom

line. And there are plenty of ambitious MBOs out there to take their place.

Thank you for considering my proposal, Mr. President-Elect.

And best of luck to you.

–Here’s more jobs to save in U.S., Mr. President-Elect–