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Hawker Beechcraft's request to pay top executives more money is being disputed by the Machinists Union. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers filed a formal objection in federal bankruptcy court Wednesday.
Last week, Hawker Beechcraft asked the federal bankruptcy court permission to pay its leadership team more money. The team is made up of eight positions and according to court papers the execs could see bonuses up to 200% of their base salary.
The Machinists Union stated in a press release that the court should not provide millions of dollars in bonuses to a company struggling to survive.
"The attempt to implement such a lucrative bonus program for the very executives who led Hawker Beechcraft into bankruptcy is particularly outrageous after thousands of Hawker employees have already lost their jobs and thousands more could lose jobs and pension benefits," said IAM Aerospace Coordinator Ron Eldridge. "These executives, who already have a fiduciary duty to maximize Hawker Beechcraft's value, should not need any additional incentive to complete their most basic responsibilities."
The Machinists Union represents more than 3,500 workers at Hawker Beechcraft.
Hawker says the union was aware of the deal which would give top executives millions when the bankruptcy was originally filed. The union is a part of a group called "unsecured creditors" in the bankruptcy filing.
The paperwork filed by Hawker Beechcraft states, "The debtors' senior management team will play an indispensable role in the performance of the business over the next few months."
It also says "...individual members of the SLT (senior leadership team) have worked around the clock (sometimes literally), shouldering responsibilities that are well above and beyond their day to day duties outside of chapter 11.