FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Washington, D.C., July 25, 2012 – Calling it a thinly disguised effort to reward top executives at Hawker Beechcraft for achieving “routine, short-term and not particularly challenging” tasks, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) today filed a formal objection to a proposal that would grant up to $5.3 million for the Beechcraft Eight, an octet of senior executives named as beneficiaries of a so-called Key Employee Incentive Plan (KEIP).
“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.”
In its filing today, the IAM said the Court should not lose sight of the “complete irony and hypocrisy” of a motion seeking to provide millions in bonuses for executives at a company struggling to survive.
“If this motion is approved, the Beechcraft Eight can rightfully take their place as the newest poster boys for corporate greed and excess in the United States,” said Eldridge. “The 80-year legacy of Hawker Beechcraft deserves better than this tawdry spectacle of corporate avarice.”
The IAM also calls for the motion to be denied because the KEIP fails to specify any true “incentive thresholds” as required by U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Rather, the motion seeks to provide the executives with up to $5.3 million in “pay to stay” bonuses. The lack of true incentives going forward reveals the KEIP for what it really is – a retention plan that fails to satisfy basic Bankruptcy Code requirements.
The IAM represents more than 3,500 workers at Hawker Beechcraft and is one of the largest industrial trade unions in North America, representing nearly 100,000 aerospace workers among 700,000 active and retired members in dozens of industries. For more information about the IAM, visit www.goiam.org
