Tribune bonus plan gets flak from bankruptcy trustee, unions

The US Bankruptcy Court trustee and three unions representing Tribune Co. workers raised objections to the Chicago media company's plan to pay tens of millions of dollars in performance bonuses. The filings Tuesday and today in Tribune's Chapter 11 case came in response to the company's July 22 request for authorization from the US Bankruptcy Court in Delaware to pay $21million to nearly $70 million in bonuses to more than 700 managers and other key employees for their work this year. Tribune also sought to pay nine of its top 10 executives $3.1 million in belated 2008 bonuses. Sam Zell, the company's chairman and chief executive, is not part of the group of 10. In its response to Tribune's motion, the U.S. trustee said the company didn't provide enough information to justify its incentive plan. Specifically, the trustee asserted that there was "insufficient information" in Tribune's motion to prove that the payments were for "bona fide programs and awards based on real performance targets."