Equifax CEO out, & it may cost him

LONGTIME Equifax CEO Richard Smith faces a hard landing after losing his job — and maybe his golden parachute.

Smith announced his sudden retirement Tuesday, becoming the latest victim of security breaches at Equifax that exposed private data about 143 million Americans.

The retirement should spare him from an anticipated public relations nightmare: A scheduled Oct. 3 appearance before Congress, where he was likely to serve as the fall guy in the identity theft mess.

But the company, in announcing Smith’s departure, said he will not receive his annual bonus. Equifax also intends to conduct an independent review of the data breach before awarding any of his potential retirement-related benefits.

Equifax lost $5.5 billion in its value once the scandal became public.

Smith’s abrupt departure follows the resignation of the company’s chief security officer and chief information officer as Equifax continues to reel from the hacking disaster.