Source:
Chicago Trib<snip>
In its response to Tribune Co.'s motion, the U.S. Trustee said the company didn't provide enough information to justify its incentive plan. Specifically, the Trustee asserted that there is "insufficient information" in Tribune Co.'s motion to prove that the payments are for "bona fide programs and awards based on real performance targets."
The Trustee, which is charged with enforcing the bankruptcy laws written by Congress, said that the awards are based on meeting specific cash flow targets but that Tribune Co. does not "give any factual and/or historical context to back up their characterization of that performance target as being 'real.'" It also questions whether the awards are in the "ordinary course of business" as required by law.
. . .
In a statement, Tribune Co. said, "The motion now before the court has the support of our senior lenders and the unsecured creditors committee. Importantly, the bulk of these incentive programs benefit more than 700 employees across the company and are performance-based. We believe our 2009 incentive program is both moderate and reasonable."
Three of Tribune Co.'s unions, meanwhile, lodged their own objections to the plans. The Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild, which sits on the unsecured creditors committee in Tribune Co.'s case and represents employees at The Sun, Tribune Co.'s daily in Baltimore, filed an objection which was joined by local units of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters in Baltimore and the Communications Workers of America in New York.
"At a time when media companies are suffering incomparable losses and struggling to survive, the Debtors have proposed spending $69.9 million to reward their top management for financial performance that, year-over-year, evidences declining fortunes," the union filing said. "While creditors face limited recovery on their claims and most rank-and-file employees live with frozen pay and benefits, the Debtors believe a proper exercise of business judgment results in millions of dollars distributed to management."
Read more:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-biz-tribune-aug5,0,2524964.story
Since they are bankrupt and in bankruptcy court, the only way to pay these bonuses is to take out another loan from the banksters. No wonder the banksters are supporting this plan.
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