Big payout for RIM ex-CEOS

TORONTO—The former co-CEOs of BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion will receive a combined $12 million in payouts for leaving their roles at the struggling company.
In a document filed with securities regulators ahead of the company’s annual meeting, RIM outlined the details of what each former executive receives.

Jim Balsillie will be paid nearly $8 million in salary and other compensation after stepping down as leader in January and then leaving the company two months later.
Mike Lazaridis, who remains a member of the board, will be paid about $4 million in salary and compensation under the condition that he will “continue to make himself reasonably available” to help the company in the future.
The deal also gives Lazaridis his own office, executive assistant, as well as a car and driver for two years, at a combined value of about $733,000.
RIM said in the filings that Balsillie and Lazaridis “revolutionized the worldwide wireless industry with the introduction of the BlackBerry and forever changed how the world communicates.”
The company has seen its stock plummet and its financial results significantly weaken in the face of intense competition from the rival Apple iPhone and devices using Google’s Android operating system.
In January, RIM promoted Thorsten Heins to the leadership role formerly held by Balsillie and Lazaridis.