Slow Death for a Food Store Giant?

Winn Dixie the Grocery Store chain is going through bankruptcy proceedings. Last Friday they filed papers in court both to gain more time to re-organize and to try protecting its workers.

Full article is at http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/local/sfl-61winndixie,0,4826922.story

JACKSONVILLE -- Bankrupt supermarket chain Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. is seeking approval to pay nearly $14 million in retention bonuses to key executives and up to $120 million in severance benefits to laid-off employees.

In a U.S. Bankruptcy Court filing Friday, Winn-Dixie said the plan is needed as an incentive for upper-level management to stay with the Jacksonville-based chain as it goes through Chapter 11 reorganization.

The retention plan would provide about 290 employees with bonuses ranging from 25 percent to 150 percent of their salaries, to be paid in three installments.``The company has spent a lot of time on the retention program. It is very important to the success of its restructuring activities,'' Michael Freitag, a company spokesman said Wednesday.

At a hearing last week, Peter Lynch, the company's president and chief executive officer, defended retention bonuses to company officials, saying he needed to keep key employees working to turn the company around.

Lynch would not be eligible for a retention bonus under the new plan, but he earlier received a $1 million bonus for staying through the end of year. In addition, he would qualify for a severance payment of three times his base salary plus a target bonus.The severance package would be offered to employees working for at least 60 days before being terminated ``without cause.''

The value would depend on factors such as job level and length of service.About 28,000 full-time employees would get one-week's salary per year of service, up to six weeks' pay. About 45,000 part-time employees would get $200 if they worked for the company more than one year or $100 if less than one year.

Sounds like a plan to me though if Winn Dixie goes out of business alot of people are going to be hurting. The chain is one of the biggest in the country. Some severance pay is better than nothing.

I do hope WD pulls through from this crisis. It's always been my store of choice, I seldom shop at Super Walmart.