What Does This Man Have to Do to Get Fired?

Kerviel cost SocGen $7.2B, but law says he can't be sacked—yet

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Posted Feb 1, 2008 11:27 AM CST

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What Does This Man Have to Do to Get Fired? — Plainclothed police officers carry bags after searching the home of Jerome Kerviel's brother Olivier, Wednesday Jan. 30, 2008 in Paris. French bank Societe Generale kept its embattled CEO and promised a thorough probe of huge trading losses blamed on a single trader, Jerome Kerviel, while the country's... (Associated Press)

Make no mistake, Société Générale would like to fire Jérôme Kerviel, the rogue trader who cost the bank $7.2 billion. But under French labor laws, he can’t be dismissed without a formal sit-down to discuss his employer's problems with his performance. That will be tough, because a judge has forbidden Kerviel to have any contact with the bank, the Wall Street Journal reports.

"This is not like America or England," says a French labor lawyer. "We have rules that protect employees, no matter what they do wrong." What's more, none of Kerviel’s bosses at SocGen has gotten the sack, either. The non-dismissal does put Kerviel in a bind: The company has stopped paying him, but until he’s formally fired, he can’t receive unemployment benefits. (More Jérôme Kerviel stories.)

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