IAM Targets Bonuses for Senior Hawker Executives
July 26, 2012
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Calling it a thinly disguised effort to reward top executives at Hawker Beechcraft for achieving “routine, short-term and not particularly challenging” tasks, the IAM this week 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, 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 sent letters to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Acting Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank, calling for a full review of the proposed sale of Hawker Beechcraft to Superior Aviation Beijing Co., Ltd.
“Every aspect of this proposed transaction should be given close scrutiny by all responsible federal agencies, including the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS),” said International President Tom Buffenbarger, who said the transaction with Superior raises profound questions regarding U.S. national security, in addition to the potential impact on IAM members at retirees at Hawker Beechcraft.
