[NewsPoster]

In a move sure to be opposed by the myriad companies it owes money to, former Apple sapphire supplier GT Advanced Technologies is currently asking a bankruptcy court judge for permission to hand out over two million dollars in "executive bonuses" designed to help motivate and retain "key" employees -- largely the same group of senior executives who ran the company into the ground. In total, the company expects to apply for nearly $6 million in total bonuses and incentives to various levels of employees.

The first plan to receive scrutiny by the judge is the Key Employee Incentive Plan (KEIP), which allows senior management to be eligible for payout if they meet certain performance thresholds. While it's hard to imagine that a ruined company in bankruptcy court has met any key performance indicators (KPIs), if the executives are found to have done so, they would receive bonuses ranging from 19 percent to 100 percent of base salary. This program could cost as much as $2.275 million, the company told the court.

Another $1.4 million might be spent on a separate Key Employee Retention Plan (KERP) for non-senior executives, offering potential retention bonuses of between $11,000 and $125,000. Finally, the firm is also asking permission to carry out a $2 million Management Incentive Plan that covers a separate 173 employees not covered in the other two programs, and which would be paid out in the first quarter of 2016, reports AppleInsider.

How likely it is that Judge Henry J. Boroff will sign off on these plans is unclear. GT Advanced noted in its application for permission that it's previous incentive plan, which promised stock in the company rather than cash, was no longer sufficient given the worthless stock price and the company's other recent issues. The company's own documents show that the company's failure was mostly on the shoulders of its own senior management team, though said executives have been quick to blame Apple and its "oppressive and burdensome" conditions (outlined in a contract GT Advanced signed on to) for the collapse of the business.

As a result, Apple was unable to offer sapphire glass for use on the displays of its new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus (and possibly its iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3), but the company recovered gracefully by using a generic version of Corning's Gorilla Glass, while it continues to use smaller quantities of sapphire glass from other suppliers for its home buttons and camera coverings. Apple had invested heavily in GT Advanced on the hopes that the company could produce double-sized joules of the unscratchable sapphire glass for about the same cost or less than normal joules from other manufacturers, which might have become a selling point for the latest iPhones, but the company was never able to produce the contracted quantity or quality of material

Apple hopes to recover most of the $439 million it invested in GT Advanced through the sale of the latter's sapphire furnaces, according to a recent settlement between Apple and GTAT. The iPhone maker will retain ownership of the plant facility and grounds in Mesa, Arizona, and has said it hopes to repurpose the facility eventually, though under the current agreement GT Advanced continues to occupy the plant rent-free until it has sold the furnaces.

GT Advanced Technologies Motion to Approve Incentive Plan

[burger]

Sure, that sounds completely reasonable.

[DiabloConQueso]

"Ok, look. We were going to get a bunch of stock, but since we ran the company into the ground, that's off the table. And again, we were taking home pretty hefty paychecks, but since the company is defunct, that won't happen anymore. So... and realizing full well that they're typically handed out for good performance and growing the company, can we just look the other way and still take home our bonuses?"

No, dipshits, you failed miserably, and you don't get rewarded for failing. You get 0 money, and that's the most fair thing that could possibly happen.

[coffeetime]

Wow. They are copycatting the executives from the typical American airlines: lost profits, more bonus, and losers are us the consumers who pay more to compensate the lost and exec. bonus and getting less leg room. Luckily we still get free sugar drinks and pretzels on a freaking six hours flight where as other country airliners serve on-flight full blown meal. NICE!

[prl99]

Their employment contract says they get them so the judge will "force" the bankruptcy court to pay these model citizens for all their hard work before any of those low lying creditors get any of their money. After all, what would this world be without executives guiding our American companies into the future?

---only in America would a judge even think about taking this request. Everywhere else the judge wouldn't have stopped laughing for weeks. I want to know how the investigation into the looting of GTA by these same executives is going. We all know Judge Koh and Judge Cote would find for these executives over anything related to Apple any day of the week. Apple needs the jury from the recent iPod lawsuit to handle this one. They'd spend this first hour deciding the verdict laughing at the executives and their lawyers and come back with a unanimous decision against them. One employee fails they all fail. No golden parachute for the executives who caused the company to fail.

[I-ku-u]

While I agree with the above comments, the reason stated for the motion seems valid: keep the "key" employees working for the company until it completely ceases to exist.

How exactly does one address a failed company's staff? If I'm working for a company that declares bankruptcy, I'm not going to want to stick around until they tell me they don't need me anymore. So, from the creditors perspective, an employee deserves an incentive to stay if they are needed to preserve the assets that will eventually be used to help pay off the debt.

Hopefully the judge rules that plans for the executives that ran the company into the ground (and/or have the stock incentives) won't be approved. But if there are employees needed to maintain the equipment that will be sold, I think the plans for those deserve to be approved.

[davisadm]

Can GT Advanced go any lower? Bonuses for driving a company into the ground? You have got to be kidding!!

[elroth]

I can understand wanting to retain the workers who actually do the work, and giving them some incentives to stay. However, the executives who drove the company in to the ground (and cashed out their stock while they were doing it), don't need to be retained. What does the company lose if the idiots that managed GT's finances are replaced by more competent people?

Does GT actually think that the people who screwed up every step of the way are the ones who can resurrect the company? Hogwash.

[climacs]

yes this sounds "unfair" (whatever that may mean), but for most of the management it's an incentive to stick around and help wind things down rather than moving on. If I was in the shoes of pretty much anybody (including the whiny scumbags who cut the deal with Apple and couldn't deliver), I'd be looking for my next gig unless someone gave me a rea$on to stay.