Comment by bagacrap
4 hours ago
What does it even mean for a company to have consequences?
You could dissolve the corporation. The assets are sold off to competitors, including their claims to oil fields. The employees find new jobs. The shareholders (your retirement plan) might get screwed? But basically the same economic activities eventually continue under a different flag. I struggle to see what this actually accomplishes.
The company should be paying until the damage is made whole. The root cause of why it happened should be prevented industry wide, mechanically. If that's lax safety culture or profit motivations, remove them. Hold the executive team to account -- any board member or executive at the time of the incident should be indebted until the damage is repaired.
The assets and people will go elsewhere? Saddle them with the debt.
Large government fines that represent a significant portion of that company's revenue would be a good place to start. The fine would need to be big enough to hit the share price hard as that seems to be the only thing that CEOs/boards notice. This should also cause investors to be more careful about which companies they invest in and avoid companies with lax standards and push companies towards better outcomes.
You said it. The shareholders get screwed, as they should.
Financial risks should go with the benefits.
If damages and cause a bankruptcy, that also means the damaged party is getting paid.
Show the board, major shareholders, and C-suite that accountability matters. If it’s a critical risk to key shareholders they are more likely to take it seriously. If not, good luck. Pretty simple, just add some skin in the game. Better yet, add in some criminal liability.