“With such a bad summer as we’ve had this year, we don’t have the financial muscle to get through the winter,” Norwegian Air’s chief executive, Jacob Schram, told newspaper Dagens Næringsliv (DN
But: Maybe the former CEO and Execs could help bail out? moral compass drift off the scale one thinks!
Bonus party over
Norwegian’s part of the requested bailout comes just after DN reported on bonuses paid to top Norwegian Air executives last year, just before the long-troubled airline’s founder and former CEO Bjørn Kjos stepped down. Kjos’ massive intercontinental expansion plan ended up leaving the airline with troubled aircraft from Seattle-based Boeing and huge debt. Kjos reportedly nonetheless approved bonuses of between NOK 2 million and NOK 6 million to four members of management, while also paying sky-high fees to external consultants.
The bonuses were paid out several months before the Corona crisis hit, and new CEO Schram has stressed that the days of such high extraordinary pay are over, but it’s all provoked labour unions at a time of massive layoffs. Newspaper Dagsavisen editorialized on Monday that all the talk about “solidarity” among management and workers at Norwegian Air loses credibility in the face of such high pay for a few leaders. Kjos has said he can’t remember the bonuses doled out before Norwegian Air reported huge losses for 2019.