"In negotiations with major creditors, 400 United executives walked away with 8% of the new company, which is slated to begin NASDAQ trading today under the ticker symbol UAUA. That's a big slice of the pie, even if the shares don't fully vest for four years. It could be worth more than $300 million, based on private trading of shares in the range of $40 to $43 in recent days.
CEO Glenn Tilton could get roughly $40 million in restricted stock and options. That's a generous work-study allowance for someone hired three years ago with no experience in airlines.
So much for the notion that pay should be based on performance. Many of the same executives helped usher in United's demise, which devastated many shareholders, including employees who took stock in return for pay cuts in 1994. It also mocks the notion that bad times necessitate shared sacrifice.
Heretofore, most of the riches in a typical reorganization have gone to lawyers and bankers. But United's bosses realized that the process put them in a strong bargaining position. And they took advantage of it.
To be sure, these executives took a ponderous, money-losing airline, pared it back and reintroduced it as a company with a fighting chance. But that feat was built on slashing labor costs. The company eliminated more than 25% of its jobs, cut salaries and ended its pension plan.
Asking workers to suffer for the good of the company is one thing. Given United's sky-high labor costs, it might even have been unavoidable. But abusing the bankruptcy process to redistribute wealth is crass, cynical - and shameful."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/sharedsacrificenotfortheseairlineexecutives;_ylt=At070i1IPMbjTTCa8zGN6m4DW7oF;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl
CEO Glenn Tilton could get roughly $40 million in restricted stock and options. That's a generous work-study allowance for someone hired three years ago with no experience in airlines.
So much for the notion that pay should be based on performance. Many of the same executives helped usher in United's demise, which devastated many shareholders, including employees who took stock in return for pay cuts in 1994. It also mocks the notion that bad times necessitate shared sacrifice.
Heretofore, most of the riches in a typical reorganization have gone to lawyers and bankers. But United's bosses realized that the process put them in a strong bargaining position. And they took advantage of it.
To be sure, these executives took a ponderous, money-losing airline, pared it back and reintroduced it as a company with a fighting chance. But that feat was built on slashing labor costs. The company eliminated more than 25% of its jobs, cut salaries and ended its pension plan.
Asking workers to suffer for the good of the company is one thing. Given United's sky-high labor costs, it might even have been unavoidable. But abusing the bankruptcy process to redistribute wealth is crass, cynical - and shameful."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/sharedsacrificenotfortheseairlineexecutives;_ylt=At070i1IPMbjTTCa8zGN6m4DW7oF;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl
