Hertz Global Holdings Inc. paid more than $16 million in retention bonuses to senior managers, including its new chief executive, just days before it filed for bankruptcy on Friday, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The car-rental company said it agreed to pay a $700,000 bonus to Chief Executive Paul Stone, who was named to the post this month. Chief Financial Officer Jamere Jackson received $600,000 and Chief Marketing Officer Jodi Allen got $189,633, according to a regulatory filing yesterday. In all, Hertz said that it would pay $16.2 million in cash bonuses to about 340 employees in recognition of uncertainty the company and its employees face as a result of the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on travel. Proponents of such payments say they are needed to keep the best executives from jumping ship when they are needed most. Detractors say they are simply another way for top-level managers to enrich themselves. But with many businesses struggling to survive the coronavirus pandemic — Hertz’s revenue in April fell 73 percent from a year earlier — incentive bonuses based on financial metrics are essentially out of reach.
