Lufthansa exec board to receive bonuses for 2021, 2022 despite state aid – Handelsblatt

BERLIN (Reuters) – Executive board members at German airline Lufthansa will each receive several million euros as a bonus for 2021 and 2022 despite the company receiving pandemic-related state aid during that time, German daily Handelsblatt reported on Tuesday.

The supervisory board approved the payments at a meeting in early December, Handelsblatt reported, citing company sources.

However, some employee representatives voted against the payment, as they saw it in violation of the rescue package conditions, according to the daily.

The German government’s economic stabilisation fund saved Lufthansa from bankruptcy during the pandemic with a bailout package totalling 9 billion euros ($9.53 billion). The government sold all its shares in the airline in September.

A Lufthansa spokesperson told Handelsblatt that the money would not be paid out until 2025, if everything went well until then, meaning the payments were not retroactive but rather part of a long-term bonus.

A spokesperson did not respond to an emailed request for comment from Reuters.

($1=0.9441 euros)

(Writing by Miranda Murray; Editing by Bradley Perrett)