Four chiefs departed from the floor,
With heavy gold bags by the door.
They left the blue stock on the slope,
And took the cash, and ki-led the hope.
Lou Gerstner set the grand design,
He took one hundred eighty-nine.
A million dollars stacked so high,
For saying his last brief goodbye.
Sam Palmisano walked the line,
And took two hundred seventy-one.
A massive fortune in his hand,
As he walked off to golden land.
Ginni Rometty claimed her share,
With twenty million waiting there.
The revenue was shrinking fast,
But her great payout chose to last.
Arvind Krishna joined them there,
With thirty-eight to clear the air.
His package jumped by fifty-one,
While workers watched what he had done.
Big payouts signed in leather chairs,
While workers cut off vital cares.
The stock may sink, the profits slide,
But severance grows both deep and wide.