Reported AFTER American\'s wage concession vote
Dow Jones Business News
AMR Created Special Pension Trust for Top Executives
Thursday April 17, 12:41 am ET
Amid intense cost-cutting last year, American Airlines' parent, AMR Corp.
(NYSE:AMR - News) , funded a supplemental pension trust for its top 45
executives that protects a portion of their retirement income in the event of a
bankruptcy filing, Thursday's Wall Street Journal reported.
The world's largest airline also offered its top six executives "cash
retention" bonuses of twice their base salaries if they stay through January
2005.
The executive perks, similar to ones at other airlines that drew fire from
Congress and unions, were disclosed late Tuesday in exhibits attached to the
company's year-end financial filing. AMR, based in Fort Worth, Texas, had
delayed filing the report because the company was negotiating pay and benefit
cuts with its unions. The filing coincided with the scheduled end of voting by
workers to ratify $1.8 billion worth of concessions to avoid a bankruptcy
filing.
American defended its supplemental pension program. Bruce Hicks, a company
spokesman, noted that the executives' primary pension program would be at risk
in a bankruptcy, just like other employees. The supplemental program funds
pension benefits above the regular employee program, and is actually similar,
the company said, to a trust American's pilots have for supplemental pension
benefits.
Wall Street Journal Staff Reporters Scott McCartney, Theo Francis, Joann S.
Lublin and Ellen E. Schultz contributed to this article.
Dow Jones Business News
AMR Created Special Pension Trust for Top Executives
Thursday April 17, 12:41 am ET
Amid intense cost-cutting last year, American Airlines' parent, AMR Corp.
(NYSE:AMR - News) , funded a supplemental pension trust for its top 45
executives that protects a portion of their retirement income in the event of a
bankruptcy filing, Thursday's Wall Street Journal reported.
The world's largest airline also offered its top six executives "cash
retention" bonuses of twice their base salaries if they stay through January
2005.
The executive perks, similar to ones at other airlines that drew fire from
Congress and unions, were disclosed late Tuesday in exhibits attached to the
company's year-end financial filing. AMR, based in Fort Worth, Texas, had
delayed filing the report because the company was negotiating pay and benefit
cuts with its unions. The filing coincided with the scheduled end of voting by
workers to ratify $1.8 billion worth of concessions to avoid a bankruptcy
filing.
American defended its supplemental pension program. Bruce Hicks, a company
spokesman, noted that the executives' primary pension program would be at risk
in a bankruptcy, just like other employees. The supplemental program funds
pension benefits above the regular employee program, and is actually similar,
the company said, to a trust American's pilots have for supplemental pension
benefits.
Wall Street Journal Staff Reporters Scott McCartney, Theo Francis, Joann S.
Lublin and Ellen E. Schultz contributed to this article.