A new document released on Friday, August 19, revealed the creditors of Voyager Digital, a cryptocurrency lender are not in favor of businesses providing their staff “retention rewards.”
Voyager requested that a federal judge endorse $1.9 million of its finances for a “Key Employee Retention Plan” (KERP). The plan aims to provide bonuses to 38 employees which according to the company were essential to its continued operation and restructuring.
Currently, Voyager is involved in the bankruptcy process in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the New York Southern District. The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, a collection of Voyager clients, protested on August 19. The committee claimed that the firm’s staff are “already well-compensated,” and that it hasn’t taken any action to mitigate its expenses.
Cratered Information
The value of the “huge equity component” that usually is an employee’s overall remuneration, “has cratered.” It means that employees are now getting paid less than their worth. In addition, the business stated at the time that Voyager’s existing reorganization plan will cancel stock shares. If these individuals left, the company’s restructuring attempts would also go in vain.
The term “non-insider” evidently refers to non-executive staff when describing these workers. The creditors argue that even if these individuals moved for better opportunities, they should be simple to substitute given the industry’s recent wave of layoffs.
The names, positions, incomes, names of the 38 employees’ superiors, and proposed incentives were redacted, according to Voyager CEO Steven Ehrlich, who requested permission from the court on the grounds that this material is “private, and/or vital data.”
The U.S. Trustee’s Office opposed Ehrlich’s motion on Friday after filing earlier this week to establish an impartial examiner to look at the financials of Celsius Network (another cryptocurrency lender undergoing bankruptcy process).
Voyager has asserted that the workers are not insiders, but the Trustee’s office indicated that other individuals with an involvement in the proceedings may contend otherwise and should be allowed the opportunity to do so.
Source: https://www.thecoinrepublic.com/2022/08/20/voyager-clients-against-employee-bonuses/