The federal government is supporting Lufthansa with billions in 2021. Nevertheless, board members should receive millions in bonuses for the crisis year, according to corporate circles. In order not to violate the conditions of the rescue package, the payment should not take place until 2025.
The members of the Lufthansa Executive Board should also receive a bonus for the crisis year 2021, when the airline was supported by the state with billions of euros. This was reported by the Düsseldorf "Handelsblatt" with reference to corporate circles. At a meeting in early December, the supervisory board voted for retrospective bonus payments in the millions for the years 2021 and 2022.
According to the information, the payments for 2021 are also controversial in the supervisory board because Lufthansa had received billions in aid from the federal government to prevent insolvency as a result of the Corona crisis. According to the "Handelsblatt", some members of the supervisory board on the employee side voted against the bonuses and criticized a violation of the requirements of the state rescue package.
A Lufthansa spokesman told the “Handelsblatt” that the bonuses that have now been decided will only be paid out from 2025. Therefore, there is no violation of state requirements. This is also evident from a report commissioned by the Supervisory Board.
In the pandemic, the group had made billions in losses. The federal government temporarily stepped in as a shareholder with a rescue package. In 2022, the situation of the group improved noticeably. In September of that year, the state sold its remaining shares. Just a few days ago, Lufthansa again raised its profit forecast for this year.
