Thread by @DanPriceSeattle

A record number of companies are headed to bankruptcy. Most are doing massive layoffs and may not survive. How are there execs doing? A thread

Hertz: Gave execs $16M in bonuses, including $700k to its brand-new CEO. And it laid off two-thirds of employees
wsj.com/articles/hertz…

JC Penney: Is bankrupt and just gave execs $6.5 million in bonuses, including $4.5 million for the CEO. Most of its 85,000 employees have been furloughed. It is $4.3 billion in debt.
observer.com/2020/05/jcpenn…

Chuck E Cheese: headed to bankruptcy, gave execs $3 million in bonuses, including $1.3 million to its CEO. It it also $1 billion in debt and pays $100M on interest alone on that debt. It furloughed most of its employees. It's owned by private equity
nbcdfw.com/news/business/…

Libbey: the glass/stemware maker is bankrupt. It just gave execs $3.1 million in bonuses, including $900,000 for the CEO. It has shut plants and outlet stores. Its stock is currently at 14 cents.
toledoblade.com/business/2020/…

Chesapeake Energy: filing for bankruptcy this week. Just pre-paid $25 million in bonuses to its execs. It is $9 billion in debt. Its stock has fallen by 91% this year. It has 2,300 workers
reuters.com/article/us-che…

Frontier Communications: just went bankrupt and gave its execs $37.7 million in bonuses. It is $17.5 billion in debt. It employs 17,000 people
news.bloomberglaw.com/bankruptcy-law…

Whiting Petroleum: just went bankrupt and gave its execs $14.6 million in bonuses, including $6.4 million to the CEO. Its stock is down 77% this year.
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

Borden: the dairy company known for Elsie the cow is bankrupt, putting its 3,300 employees on the edge. It just gave execs $4 million in bonuses. It is in $250 million in debt, largely to private equity
news.bloomberglaw.com/bankruptcy-law…

Chaparral Energy: facing bankruptcy and has warned it might not "be able to continue as a going concern." Just gave execs $2.15 million in bonuses, including $725,000 to the CEO. It is $420 million in debt. Its stock is down 39% this year.
reuters.com/article/us-cha…

LSC Communications: The printing company just went bankrupt and gave execs $14 million in bonuses. It laid off at least 800 people. It is $972 million in debt
law360.com/bankruptcy/art…

McDermott: the oil-field company went bankrupt and just got approval to pay execs $106 million in bonuses, including $12.6 million to its CEO. Its stock is at 14 cents. It is $9.9 billion in debt
constructiondive.com/news/mcdermott…

Intelsat: the satellite operator is bankrupt. It just paid execs over $2 million, including $1.05 million to its CEO. It is $14.5 billion in debt. It is owned by private equity
spacenews.com/shareholder-ur…

Philadelphia Energy Solutions: shut down a refinery employing 1,1000 people after a devastating fire, then days later gave execs $5.25 million in bonuses, then filed for bankruptcy. Also offering execs another $20M in bonuses if performance targets are met
inquirer.com/business/bankr…

Purdue: the OxyContin maker responsible for fueling the opioid crisis filed for bankruptcy last year. It gave execs $35 million in bonuses, including $1.3 million for its CEO
stamfordadvocate.com/business/artic…

Fairway Markets: just filed for bankruptcy and gave its execs $2.3 million in bonuses. It's filed notice to lay off up to 2,000 employees
grubstreet.com/2020/04/fairwa…

Extraction Oil & Gas: just paid execs $6.7 million in bonuses Friday and filed for bankruptcy Monday. It has $1.7 billion in debt and just $35 million in cash. Its stock is trading at 55 cents
wsj.com/articles/extra…

OK, I'll stop there - I'm sure there are more.

And this is not a 2020 phenomenon. A couple of notable cases from the not-so-distant past: Toys 'R' Us went bankrupt and gave execs up to $68M; Sears went bankrupt and gave execs $25 million, etc.

Why do companies reward execs for leading them into bankruptcy? The short answer is because they can.

These "retention bonuses" are entirely legal if done before bankruptcy. So often a company hands out the bonuses then immediately files for Chapter 11, sometimes the next day.

The parent company of Ann Taylor, Loft and Lane Bryant is headed for bankruptcy. It's closed all 2,800 stores and cut 50% of salaries. Its stock is down 75% this year.

It just gave executives $5.5 million in bonuses, including over $2 million to the CEO
ibtimes.com/ann-taylor-lof…

GNC is bankrupt. Up to half of employees could lose jobs. It is $900M in debt. Its stock is down to 54 cents.

It just gave its execs $3.9 million in bonuses - including $2.2 million for the CEO - five days before filing for bankruptcy.
cbsnews.com/news/bankrupt-…

Stage Stores (Palais Royal, Bealls, Goody’s, Gordmans, Peebles) just went bankrupt. It's closing 550 stores, resulting in hundreds of job losses. Its stock is down 99% this year to 8 cents.

It just gave its execs $1.7 million in bonuses
law360.com/articles/12846…

Engine maker Briggs & Stratton is headed for bankruptcy. It's laying off at least 240 people. It has 5,200 employees but can't pay $600M in debt. Its stock is down 82% this year.

It just gave its execs $5.1 million in bonuses, including $1.2M for the CEO
bizjournals.com/milwaukee/news…

MDC Energy filed for bankruptcy - 8 months later, one of its wells is still spewing a dangerous amount of methane, which is 80x more harmful than CO2.

Instead of spending money to clean it, it gave the CEO who led it into bankruptcy an $8.5 million bonus
nytimes.com/2020/07/12/cli…

Neiman Marcus: went bankrupt in May. It is over $4B in debt and furloughed 14,000 workers as it closed stores. It is owned by private equity.

It's giving its CEO a $6 million bonus after a $4.75M bonus in February. It's also giving $4M to 7 other execs
dallasnews.com/business/retai…

Diamond Offshore Drilling: went bankrupt with $2.6B in debt. It already laid off 102 of its 2,500 employees and gave 30% pay cuts to others.

It just got a $9.7M covid bailout. It gave every dollar of it to nine top executives who led them into bankruptcy
ecowatch.com/fracking-bankr…

Hi-Crush: the fracking sand provider is bankrupt. It laid off at least 60% of its 750 employees. Its stock is trading at 3 cents.

It just gave four execs $3.96 million in bonuses, including $1.35 million to the CEO on top of his $2.3M annual compensation
naturalgasintel.com/dearth-of-lowe…

Acorn: The drugmaker is bankrupt. The FDA found problems at its factories. A potential buyer found “blatant fraud at (Akorn's) very top level." Its stock is down 83% this year to $0.23

It just gave $7.7M in bonuses to 4 execs, including $3.6M to the CEO
chicagobusiness.com/health-care/ak…

Pioneer Energy Services: went bankrupt in September and delisted from the stock market. Experts say it might not survive.

It gave its CEO a $2.7 million bonus at the time of bankruptcy. Now the CEO is ousted and got another $1.65 million on the way out
expressnews.com/business/artic…

Men's Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank: Its parent company just went bankrupt. It's closing 500 stores and laid off 20% of corporate staff. Its stock is down 93% this year.

A week ago it paid its execs $3.3 million in bonuses, including $1.7 million for the CEO
wsj.com/articles/mens-…

Modell's: closing all 153 stores after going bankrupt. All 3,600 employees have lost their jobs.

It is paying its remaining 12 execs $211,000 in bonuses right before it turns off the lights
crainsnewyork.com/finance/modell…

24 Hour Fitness: is bankrupt and laid off a bunch of its 22,000 employees after permanently closing 25% of its gyms. It's owned by private equity. In March it made it nearly impossible to get membership refunds

It's giving executives $9 million in bonuses
law360.com/articles/12990…

Ravn: the airline in Alaska is bankrupt and going out of business. All 1,000 workers have been laid off.

Yet its giving the CEO, who already makes $1.4 million a year, and other execs bonuses up to $250,000 before they turn off the lights
alaskapublic.org/2020/08/12/rav…

CBL & Associates: the mall owner is filing for bankruptcy. It is $900M in debt. Its stock has tumbled 81% this year and is down to 19 cents.

It just gave its execs $2.2 million in bonuses, including almost $1 million to the CEO
wsj.com/articles/cbl-r…

In June, I began this thread by noting bankrupt Hertz laid off 10,000 employees and gave execs $16.2 million in bonuses.

They're doing it again: Hertz - still bankrupt, employees still jobless - is giving execs another $14.6M, including $2M for the CEO
wsj.com/articles/bankr…