The costs of a data breach, to the company breached and to the public, are considerable. There are direct costs from things like PR and legal fees from ensuing lawsuits. There are indirect costs, perhaps more formidable, from damage to reputation and loss of trade secrets. Each breach is different, but it is common to estimate the cost of a breach at around $140 per lost record and some discussion of these estimates is given at this link.
Once again, each breach is different and institutions may have unique liabilities. One interesting example was the case of Independent News and Media, discussed at this link, an Irish media company that suffered a data breach. The case was interesting because their data contained secrets about their confidential sources and thus the breach presented a threat to journalistic freedom of general public interest.
If none of these things move you, it is still never fun to lose your job.