Hertz Pays $16 Million In Bonuses To Its Executive Team Amid Filing For Bankruptcy

Hertz has doled out retention bonuses to a number of executives as it looks to restructure under last week’s Chapter 11 filing.

The company paid 340 employees over $16 million in cash retention bonuses, including $700,000 to Paul Stone, Hertz president and CEO, $600,000 to Jamere Jackson, executive vice president and chief financial officer for the company, and $189,633 to Jodi Allen, executive vice president and chief marketing officer.

As part of the retention bonus, employees have forfeited their right to the company’s annual bonus plan for 2020.

Hertz’s car rental business has been severely hit by the coronavirus as travel ban curtailed travel and rental car demand plunged amid stay-at-home orders. The company halted the majority of its new car orders for 2021 and has been offloading a portion of its rental car fleet under the financial strain.

Hertz had nearly $19 billion of debt and 38,000 employees globally at the end of 2019, Reuters reported. It counted Carl Icahn as its top shareholder with a 39% interest in the company and filed for bankruptcy protection on Saturday, the news outlet said.