Though the words “Jeff [Immelt] has a credibility issue” did indeed exit the mouth of Jack Welch yesterday on “Squawk Box,” the former General Electric CEO showed up on the CNBC morning show again today to clarify that under no circumstances should they have been misconstrued to mean that there are issues surrounding Jeff Immelt’s credibility. If that’s how you took it, WOW. Said Welch, “Much to my shock and horror remarks I made on Squawk Box about the performance of GE CEO Jeff Immelt were interpreted to mean the exact opposite of what I intended. You see, what you took as my suggestion that Immelt couldn’t manage a Taco Bell if his life depended on it was actually my way of saying the guy’s an outstanding CEO. Besides, Taco Bell is a tough operation to handle, trust me. The hours suck with the all night drive-thru. No one would know that better than me. I could tell you some stories.”
Welch did not, however, take back his threat to “get out a gun and shoot” his successor, should the “shit for brains” CEO (which is to say “genius”) miss earnings again, ‘cause guess what? He meant it. And not in the up/down, in/out, I was just messing, by “I’ll fucking kill you” I meant “I’ll fucking give birth to you” way, but in the I swear to god, I will not hesitate to end your life if that's what it takes to get some results out of this bitch. Check out the name tag button on my lapel, grandma Immelt. You're in my bizzaro world now.
GE's Welch Defends Immelt, Says Remark Misinterpreted [Bloomberg]
Welch says GE's Immelt has `credibility issue' [AP]
Posted by guest , Apr 17, 2008 11:40AM
So "six smegma" isn't all it's made out to be, eh?
Posted by guest , Apr 17, 2008 11:44AM
Welch is nuts.
Posted by diablo , Apr 17, 2008 11:44AM
Funny that after this morning's retraction or clarification, whatever, Welch is the one left with no credibility.
I think Welch is going to ask his buddy Cheney to take Immelt to one of his hunting trips.
Posted by BottomFellOut , Apr 17, 2008 11:46AM
Umm..Welch...umm...lets beat the number by manipulating the pension accounting..
Posted by guest , Apr 17, 2008 11:50AM
Welch is "Uncle Junior" to Immelt's "Tony Soprano"....(cue theme to The Spranos)
Posted by guest , Apr 17, 2008 11:50AM
@11:46 Lets not blame Welch too much for that sort of thing. The pre-Enron, pre-Sarbanes rules practically encouraged it. Hard to imagine in this day and age, but at that time it was almost the key job of the controller to skillfully manipulate earnings. Similar to company/analyst relationships before reg FD. What were we all thinking?
Posted by NomadTrader , Apr 17, 2008 11:58AM
Bess, was that you that put a luggy in my taco 6 months ago at Jersey turnpike toll plaza? 'cause it tasted better than usual is all.
Posted by guest , Apr 17, 2008 12:08PM
I'm either on magic airborne drugs or the WP post article about the monetary benefits of shorting subprime just disappeared before I could read it. WTF?
Posted by guest , Apr 17, 2008 12:11PM
It's the magic airborne drugs. They're at Jack Welch's house, too.
Posted by guest , Apr 17, 2008 12:12PM
I will make it through this recession solely due to the heroism of Bess Levin. BL, I have a big diamond waiting for you whenever you're ready.
Posted by guest , Apr 17, 2008 12:21PM
@12:12: I'm in line ahead of you buddy.
Posted by guest , Apr 17, 2008 12:28PM
@12:11 Thanks. I was beginning to think that this site had more bugs than in the coochie of certain CEO's tiarra-wearing daughter. I guess I should heed Nancy Reagan and Mr. T's advice: "Don't do drugs! Foo'!"
Posted by guest , Apr 17, 2008 12:34PM
What do Jack Welch and Elizabeth Taylor have in common? Most people thought they died years ago.
Posted by guest , Apr 17, 2008 12:35PM
Now that he has retired Jack has moved from six sigma to Randolph Dupree's classic "Seven Different Kinds of Smoke"
Posted by BottomFellOut , Apr 17, 2008 1:02PM
@11.50 - He was a cheat. The financial community thought he was a managerial genius and gave GE a super multiple...just another manipulator.
Now he is trying to re-write his CEO history.
Similar to Greenspan. He learnt well from Ann Rynd that honestly has no value at all. She was a disgusting person with a poisonous philosophy that entrenched itself in CEO's and Wall Street and hedge fund community.
Posted by american bandersnatch , Apr 17, 2008 1:22PM
Who is Ann Rynd?
Posted by Anal_yst , Apr 17, 2008 1:29PM
AB, i think she works @ Flashdancers, can't argue though that girl does have a rather poisonous philosophy about her, that nasty girl she is
Posted by guest , Apr 17, 2008 3:42PM
@ab ha!
Posted by guest , Apr 17, 2008 5:06PM
THAT WAS HI-fxxxing-LARIOUS!!!
Posted by guest , Apr 17, 2008 6:04PM
Jack welch should have said that Immelt should be fired for doing such a crappy job .... he was way too nice to Jeffreyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
Posted by guest , Apr 17, 2008 6:10PM
Ayn Rand was a 20th Century novelist of ideas who died in 1979. She wrote two best-selling novels still in print: The Fountainhead, and Atlas Shrugged.
An immigrant from Russia, she exalted the individualistic struggles of capitalism. Among the many people influenced by her writing are Mark Cuban, Alan Greenspan, Hugh Hefner, Rush Limbaugh, Ron Paul, and Clarence Thomas. Alan Greenspan spent years of his life studying her philosophy.
She is not as widely influential in the 21st Century and she was in the second half of the 20th Century.
Posted by guest , Apr 17, 2008 11:19PM
sign of senility