Bankruptcy, Executive Pay | featured news

The subject of CEO compensation looks like it will get time under the microscope in American Airlines' Chapter 11 bankruptcy case. The U.S. trustee overseeing the bankruptcy case of American parent AMR has filed an objection to the $19.8 million severance package that current CEO Tom Horton is set to get when he leaves the company next year, according to Reuters. Also included in the objection are severance and retention payments slated for other company employees.

Today, Hostess Brands inc. — the company famed for its sickly sweet dessert snacks like Twinkies and Sno Balls — announced they’d be shuttering after more than eighty years of production. But while headlines have been quick to blame unions for the downfall of the company there’s actually more to the story: While the company was filing for bankruptcy, for the second time, earlier this year, it actually tripled its CEO’s pay, and increased other executives’ compensation by as much as 80 percent.