Crypto lender Voyager Digital's creditors do not believe the company needs to pay employees "retention awards," according to a new legal filing shared late Friday, CoinDesk.com reported. Voyager, which is currently undergoing bankruptcy proceedings in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, asked a federal judge to approve $1.9 million of its funds for a "Key Employee Retention Plan" (KERP), meaning bonuses to 38 employees that the company claimed were vital to its continued operation and restructuring. On Friday, the official unsecured creditors' committee objected, saying that Voyager's employees are "already well-compensated," and arguing that the company has otherwise done little to reduce costs. "The Debtors have not provided any evidence to justify the retention awards beyond conclusory statements that these employees are needed. Importantly, the Debtors provide no evidence that the 38 Participants are at risk of resigning. And that is because no such evidence exists — since the Petition Date, only 12 of the Debtors’ approximately 350 employees have voluntarily resigned," the filing said. The employees perform "essential accounting, cash and digital asset management, IT infrastructure, legal, and other critical functions for the Debtors," Voyager's August 2 filing said.
