Hawker Beechcraft wants to pay eight senior executives more than $5.3 million in bonuses as it tries to emerge from bankruptcy, but the request was challenged yesterday by U.S. Trustee Tracy Hope Davis and the company's machinist union, the Associated Press reported yesterday. The Kansas-based airplane maker has not shown that its proposed bonus plan is not a "disguised retention plan," Davis argued in court documents. Hawker Beechcraft calls the bonuses an incentive award. The company said the plan was developed to recognize the critical role certain employees have in the bankruptcy process, arguing that their continued employment is essential to the company's ongoing business operations and restructuring.
