Hawker Beechcraft yesterday defended its plan to pay more than $5.3 million in bonuses to eight top executives, the Associated Press reported yesterday. The Wichita, Kansas-based plane maker filed the document just hours before a hearing in New York over the disputed bonus plan for senior management. The company, which filed for bankruptcy in May, also is seeking an additional $1.9 million in bonuses for 31 other management-level employees. U.S. Trustee Tracy Hope Davis and the machinists union have filed objections to the bonus plan. Hawker Beechcraft Corp. is owned by Onex Partners and GS Capital Partners, a Goldman Sachs private equity fund. The bankruptcy court has approved exclusive talks with a Chinese firm that has offered nearly $1.8 billion to buy the company's business jet and general aviation operations.
