Originally Posted by
Symmetre
The reality is, optics do matter.
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Make no mistake, there will be implications, near-term and long-term. No question this will come up next time AC sits down to negotiate with one of the unions.
How do they matter? What are the implications? Are you going to buy a ticket from WestJet instead of AC because AC gave out an insignificant sum in bonuses to its staff? I can assure you that Onex likely gave an even more generous package to the WS staff, because they didn't have to worry about this PR nonsense.
The unions are going to get whatever they can get at the next negotiation, based on market conditions at the time. They will complain about these bonuses, but talk is cheap. If AC execs had put on their hair shirts and taken zero pay for all of 2020, the union would still have squeezed every last penny out of AC the next time it got the chance.
This will generate some outrage in the press and in social media for a few days, then everyone will move on.
It's not often that I agree with Justin Trudeau, but in this instance, he's absolutely right.
Even though he's likely being incredibly misleading in acting like he knew nothing about this?
AC management had a chance for a public perception win, and they blew it.
How could they possibly have won this? If bonuses had been zero, there would have been no story. AC could have messaged this better by emphasizing the massive cut in bonuses and total executive comp, but even if they had paid $10 in bonuses instead of $10MM, someone would have been up in arms.
Originally Posted by
mileageking
We don't know the what bonus splits are between executives. According to Deputy PM interview video in post #87 above (scroll to 13:00 and again 20:00), total executive compensation under the agreement is restricted with a cap of $1m for as long as the loan lasts. So I guess as long as total comp including bonus is within $1m it should be ok?
The bonuses pre-date the bailout. They could have given execs $10MM each and the government couldn't do anything about it.