Management is also fired in this instance. What you are probably suggesting is that management should have been fired sooner and replaced with competent ones. That is the job of the board, who is the proxy for shareholders. Since the board didn't do its job properly, their shares are also going to zero.
Again, working as intended. There should be no free lunch or bailouts for incompetent work.
The people being punished aren't the board or the management, those will fail upwards to other cushy roles.
The people being punished are the workers and the consumers.
If the board is unable to bring their house in order, the state should fire them, not let their incompetence ruin the lives of the working class.
I agree with GP that this is "capitalism working as it should", e.g. inflicting cruelty on working people while funnelling more wealth upwards. I disagree with the assessment of that being a good thing.
> If the board is unable to bring their house in order, the state should fire them, not let their incompetence ruin the lives of the working class.
Oh no please! Last thing I want is letting Donald Trump (or AOC if you are a right-winger) decide which board to fire based on their whims about a company.
> I disagree with the assessment of that being a good thing.
can't help but think of the deadweight loss to the US over lack of free market capitalism in terms of bailouts, price supports & subsidies, monopolies, etc. every day we stray further and further from this system we purport to have.
edit: do folks not think more competition would be better for consumers? i'm no stan of capitalism but surely it could be made better, sheesh.
That being said, I suspect many people had never heard about Lehman Brothers before 2008...