Friday, April 13, 2012

Buffets Inc. Management Get Bonuses After Putting Company into Bankruptcy

I was led to this story by one of our readers, and it is true. The Bankruptcy Court approves bonuses for Buffets, Inc. executives. This follows the closing of so many Old Country Buffet and Ryan's Buffet restaurants owned by the corporation in January 2012 and putting thousands suddenly out of work - and these closings are still happening.

The recipients of these bonuses are the same executives that put the corporation into bankruptcy. One would think that these execs would be fired from their jobs - and join those that they forced out suddenly out of work at the restaurants - but no, they have been rewarded!

The sum to be split among the executives who will receive these bonuses (which includes the top two executives and sixteen other executives is $2.3 Million. How many restaurant employees' jobs could have been saved with $2.3 Million?

This is not the first time the Buffets, Inc. following bankruptcy has applied to the Bankruptcy Court for permission to issue executive bonuses. They did this following the first bankruptcy as well and the chief executive officer, Michael Andrews, and fourteen other top executives at that time received a split of a million dollar bonus. The same execs will be receiving the current bonus. The approval by the Bankruptcy Court is dependent upon the company meeting five specific financial criteria. You and I know that they will.

Lenders to Buffets, Inc. may object to the bonus plan and the court would take those objections into consideration - but so far there has been no report that they will.

Here is an article link that gives all of the details about the bonuses. I do not know how long this link will stay live.

If this company is closing its restaurants and putting its restaurant managers and employees out of work in these so very difficult economic times, where is this bonus money at the top coming from?

One thing that I want to say to my readers is that by taking your anger out on the company by not going to their restaurants will only hurt those at the lowest level - the manager and employees at the restaurant you boycott. This will not hurt the corporation, because they are continuing to close locations of Old Country Buffet and Ryans based upon individual restaurant income. Several additional restaurants have closed since the big January wipe out - maybe more than several. And it is always done the same way. No one knows anything including the manager when they come to work that morning and then the "suits" arrive and tell everyone - (paraphrasing) "Guess what, you are closed and all of your are fired." So if you boycott the restaurants you will hurt the people who don't even dream about bonuses and just hope day to day that they still have a job. You are not going to hurt the corporation or the people at the top - who will continue to be rewarded for destroying the lives of the people who work for them. It is all very sad and frustrating, but true.

Shame once again on Buffets, Inc.!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

It is a shame. I was employed by them during the last backruptcy in a mid-management level. This 2.3 mil is a drop in the bucket to the bonuses paid during the last bankruptcy. In the level I was at, I received about 7500 in bonus. The kicker is, they would not let me refuse it. Many others in my position felt they should pay the vendors to ease their burden instead of spreading their ill-gotten wealth amounst us.

I suffered a large loss with this last filing, and probably will not see a penny, sam as many others in my position. And they wonder why their vendors refuse to cut them a discount on services performed...

Anonymous said...

How horrible that a muliti billion dollar corporation can a run a company like this it is not right to do this to hard working decdicated employees who have worked hard for the corporation for years. Even after Bankruptcy they are still shuttering locations after leases are ending. Mike Andrews only cares about his personal profit and not the survival of the company The Higher Ups needed to be replaced Now !