Board Betrayal: The Weirton Steel Story: Failed Governance and Management Hand in Hand with Arthur Andersen: An Esop Fable

In 1983 the employees of Weirton Steel voted to take a 20% pay cut to save their jobs. Through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan, they purchased the ailing company. Full of hope and confidence, the workers believed their sacrifices would eventually secure their future.

Today Weirton’s stock is practically worthless, thousands of jobs have been eliminated, and the company’s officers and directors have been subject to multiple lawsuits. As members of top management made personal fortunes, the employee owners watched their net worth erode year after year. Long before Arthur Andersen’s incompetence became legendary, the firm’s auditors helped Weirton Steel’s management waste millions of the employee owners’ value.