During the same week that he signed off on the "permanent layoff" of 28 employees at his company's Lamar plant, O'Sullivan Industries' interim CEO Rick Allan Walters signed documents asking a federal bankruptcy judge to approve a bonus package of more than $1.6 million for the company's top executives.
In documents filed Jan. 3 in U. S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Walters said, "In an effort to ensure the continued retention of approximately 22 of their key employees through the conclusion of the restructuring process," the company is asking the judge to approve a bonus policy through which "those employees could potentially receive a total of approximately up
to $1.47 million in cash over time; this figure also includes a $200,000 discretionary pool."
Four top executives in senior management, not specifically named in the court document, could potentially receive "a total amount equal to 37.5 percent of their annual salary, and a second tier, consisting of approximately 18 key employees," could potentially receive "a total equal to 25 percent of their annual salary," according to the court documents.
The bonus payments would be divided into payments designated as incentive and money to keep those employees from leaving, according to the court documents. If approved, half of the bonuses would be paid on June 30 and the other half either at Sept. 30 or 90 days after the payment of the first bonus, the documents said.
The incentive part would only be paid if the company met certain net sales for fiscal year 2006, according to the documents.
The incentive part would be 75 percent of the bonus for the four top employees.
The documents were filed as part of the company's amended bankruptcy plan. Company officials indicated that the plan must be approved close to the way it has been submitted in order for O'Sullivan Industries to continue exist and to avoid liquidation.
Sounds like blackmail to me!!!
ReplyDeleteI don't think they should get any compensation. My husband hasn't had a raise in 4 years, he has worked there 11 years. I think this is really shi....y of them and they really havn't made a turn around as I can see. Then they go and layoff more people so they can pad there pockets. These people that they laid off have made there careers with Osullivans and now they are left out in the cold to try to regroup themsevles and now they have to move from their hometown where they were born and raised to start over. This is a very sad, sad day for Lamar and all those families.
ReplyDeleteThey file for bankruptcy so that they can offload their debts, lay off workers to dump a bunch of paychecks and benefits, and ask the courts to give their executives a bonus as a reward for their diligence in offloading company debt and firing their employees.
ReplyDeleteWhat is wrong with this picture?
All the pee-on employees got for a bonus was a turkey dinner. Yippie. I bet that set them back a pretty penny.
ReplyDeleteI guess the upper management must be a bunch of morons. Do they not think that Randy will dig up the dirt on them?
Why dont the judge say no give that money to your employees,how do you think this makes the people fell.. go to court to get a raise when the good employees need a raise .city bills going up 30% gas bills up 70 % osullivans pay up 0%
ReplyDeleteI figure most of the workers in this area are in trouble because they were not willing to even consider voting in Unions at their places of work back when they had the chance. Guess they just did not realize that they were on the bottom of the food chain and needed a bit of help in fighting off folks whose only agenda was to bleed a company dry and then move on to the next victim. Enjoy the fruits of your labors folks.
ReplyDeleteThis tops it off ! Now the as-----'s are reducing the amount they match their employees 401K contributions ! It's going from a 100% match of the first 5% the employess contribute to 50% of the first 4%. What next, No insurance ?
ReplyDeleteIt just goes to show that the Big Dogs in Atlanta do not care about the employees in Lamar at all. They get rid of the people that have busted their butts for the company for many years so they won't have to pay out so much to them. Then turn around and want their buddies they have hired in Atlanta to get more BIG BUCKS??? This is all bull. Every so often they send them a letter thanking them for their hard work. but do they offer the actual employees any more money?? Hell no.....they want that for their own pockets. I am so glad that I got out of there last July when I did. The stress level then was more then I wanted to have to deal with at a job, and it has got a lot worse since then. I have many friends still there and I feel very sorry for them having to go through all this. Many and I mean many of them have been there for over 20 yeras. It is basically all they know. I heard when these people took over that they were called the Atlanta Mafia. Now I know why. They are very heartless and just plain mean. Other then the employees themselves having to start all over somewhere, it would serve them right to loose it all.
ReplyDeleteSince this is my one year "anniversary" of being "liberated" from O'Sullivan, I think I can empathize with this last group of people who have been let go. I knew many of them personally, and I understand their hurt right now.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I also want to tell tham about how much better life can be for them post O'Sullivan. God has a plan for each person's life. Seek it and look forward, NEVER back!
Being let go does not diminish you as a person. In fact, if you look around, you are in pretty good company! This might be that chance to try something you have always wanted to do. You never know!
As I see it, the employees in Lamar should do a mass exit, resignations or just a flat walkout and throw a monkey wrench into the Atlanta Group's restructuring plan and, hopefully, allow for the company to be acquired by a semi local group. As long as the workers in Lamar continue to work, the more these vultures are going to put into their own pockets using the Chapter 13 loopholes.
ReplyDeleteWalking out is easier said than done. If there were 700 or 800 jobs out there wanting factory workers, that would be great. Some of these people are in their fifties and where are they going to go?
ReplyDeleteWhere are they going to go in a few months when the company has no assets left? These guys have taken all the money and left only a pile of debts to be written off by creditors. I suspect that in the end, one day the workers will arrive at the gates and find them padlocked and will never see their final pay and settlement checks.
ReplyDeleteMakes me want to cry. I just dont understand these people, how can they be so cruel and cold hearted.
ReplyDelete