golden parachute
6
6.8
- noun
- /ˈɡoʊldən ˈpɛrəˌʃut/
- Specialized
:
paracaídas dorado
- No idea that there'd be a golden parachute for the chairman.
- million golden parachutes
- golden parachutes for executives
- golden parachute package
Examples
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That means they have huge golden parachutes and jobs waiting elsewhere in the parent company.
Blog text (6) -
"I can't help but think of the Home Depot CEO, after several ruinous years at the top, taking a huge golden parachute of several hundred million dollars and leaving the company with a huge reduction in actual value and massive layoffs.
Blog text (21) -
Do you think 1 billion dollars is a nice golden parachute?
Blog text (20) -
You think I'd accept some golden parachute and drop back into my hole?
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I bet those executives found themselves a golden parachute on the way out.
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Plus, of course, a settlement, a golden parachute of such magnitude that his feet will never touch the ground.
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And after Obama kicked him out, he was still due to get at least a $7 million golden parachute, up to $24 million.
Blog text (29) -
Employment packages for these guys now normally include massive contractual bonus structures, golden parachutes, and stock options that pay off regardless of the company's actual bottom line.
Blog text (32) -
The S.E.C. in January enacted "say on pay" rules that give shareholders a nonbinding vote on corporate salaries, bonuses, and golden parachutes.
Blog text (4) -
After the merger, the CEO negotiated a lucrative golden parachute to ensure financial security if he was dismissed.
Synonyms
1
5.5
Money that a company pays an employee when they leave, often to encourage early retirement
1
5.5
A written agreement about money or benefits given when an employee leaves a job
How Generous
- Specialized
6
6.8
1
5.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
golden + parachute
The image of a 'parachute' giving a soft landing combined with 'golden' signaling something very valuable makes the general idea — a valuable safety/backup for a person leaving a job — inferable from the parts. However, the specific business sense (a large severance/compensation package for top executives on dismissal or takeover) is a conventionalized, culture-specific extension that a B1 learner who only knows the constituents may not fully predict.
Etymology
The noun golden parachute comes from the image of a shiny parachute that lets someone land safely, and golden shows it is very valuable. So the phrase means a large payment that helps a top boss 'land' safely when they are forced to leave a company.