Monday, October 17, 2005

O'Sullivan bankruptcy plan includes incentives for 'key' employees

The more than 1,000 workers at the O'Sullivan Industries plant in Lamar no doubt feel a little shaky in light of the company's decision to file for bankruptcy Friday. Top-level officials have no reason to start distributing their resumes, however.
Part of the bankruptcy plan scheduled to be reviewed during a 1:30 p.m. hearing today in Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Georgia is what company officials refer to as the "Key Employee Retention Plan."
Under this plan, 25 members of management, with no names listed in bankruptcy court documents, "could potentially receive a total of approximately $1.47 million over time," with the including what is described as a "$200,000 discretionary pool."
The protected officials are divided into two groups, according to the documents, one tier consisting of "six members of the debtors' most senior management, potentially receiving a total amount equal to 37.5 percent of their annual salary," and a second tier "consisting of approximately 19 key employees, potentially receiving a total equal to 25 percent of their annual salary."
The payments will be divided into two components, the documents indicate, one for incentive and one just to keep the "key" employees with O'Sullivan Industries. Fifty percent of the money will be paid "upon the earlier of the effective date or June 30, 2006, with the remaining money being paid "at the earlier of Sept. 30, 2006, or the effective date."
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Today's hearing will also take up O'Sullivan officials proposal that severance benefits be eliminated for several former O'Sullivan employees, including members of the O'Sullivan family.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just sounds like legalized stealing to me. The current management team should be fired and some other team with some ethics hired. Sounds like a darn mess to me!

Anonymous said...

Seems to me that some of that money should go to keeping the little guys out in the plant that really keep the plant running!!!!