No severance pay for Carty......Ex-CEO will receive benefits earned in=20 25-year career By Trebor Banstetter Star-Telegram Staff Writer FORT WORTH - Don Carty, the AMR Corp. chief executive who resigned in=20 April, will not receive a severance package from the company, airline=20 officials said Friday. The board of directors of Fort Worth-based AMR,=20 parent of American Airlines, made the decision recently, and executives=20 informed employees Friday, spokesman Al Becker said. But Carty will receive= =20 more than $8 million after taxes from a controversial bankruptcy-proof=20 executive retirement plan -- a program that helped spark the employee=20 revolt that led to his resignation. "We feel we can now close this chapter= =20 in our recent history," AMR Chairman Ed Brennan said in a message to=20 employees Friday afternoon. "[We] wish Don well for his years of loyal=20 service, and [can now] stay focused on American's recovery." Many=20 compensation experts had anticipated that Carty would get a generous=20 severance deal -- some predicted as much as $5 million to $10 million --=20 because his voluntary resignation preserved newly negotiated labor=20 concessions and helped keep the airline out of bankruptcy. Outgoing CEOs=20 typically get some type of severance package regardless of the reason for=20 their departure, said Graef Crystal, an executive-compensation expert who=20 writes a column for Bloomberg News. "I'm really quite amazed," Crystal=20 said. "Almost every other CEO has gone out with at least a couple years'= pay." Union leaders praised the board's decision. "We do not believe Carty=20 deserved any type of special severance package," said George Price of the=20 Association of Professional Flight Attendants, which represents American's= =20 flight attendants. "The condition of the company as it stands right now is= =20 in large part due to his mismanagement of the company." Jim Little of the=20 Transport Workers Union, which represents American's mechanics and ground=20 workers, said Carty's severance "was the last piece of that issue that was= =20 still hanging out there, and now we can move on." He added that "based on=20 what transpired, he certainly didn't deserve anything." Efforts to reach=20 Carty by telephone at his house in Dallas were unsuccessful. Becker said=20 the board's decision was "different from what a lot of CEOs receive in=20 these situations." But the former chief executive won't leave the company=20 empty-handed. He will receive all of the benefits he earned during his=20 25-year career at American, including: =95 A $13.5 million payment from American's supplemental executive= retirement=20 plan, which will total $8.2 million after taxes. =95 $79,000 annually from the airline's defined-benefit pension plan. =95 Shares of stock and stock options he earned during his career. =95 Payment for unused vacation time. =95 Full retiree health and travel benefits. "Many CEOs receive a minimum of a multiple of their salary, in addition to= =20 their pensions, when they leave a company," American officials told=20 management employees in a memo issued Friday afternoon. "Carty is to=20 receive no additional payments." Unlike many chief executives, Carty did=20 not work under an employment contract, so severance was the board's=20 decision. Becker said Carty did not request severance and did not oppose=20 the board's decision, given American's steep losses during the past two=20 years. "He is very much aware of American's financial situation," Becker=20 said. Becker also said American "doesn't generally talk about an employee's= =20 retirement benefits, but we've made an exception here because of the=20 unusual circumstances under which Mr. Carty left our company." Carty=20 stepped down amid an uproar over lucrative executive bonuses and retirement= =20 benefits that weren't disclosed until after employees had approved painful= =20 concessions. After learning of the executive perks, union leaders threatened to hold new= =20 elections on the concessions, a move that likely would have pushed the=20 airline into bankruptcy. The situation was defused after Carty resigned and= =20 American made changes to the new labor contracts. The board also eliminated= =20 the executive bonuses, but kept the executive retirement plan, which was=20 worth $25 million after taxes. American has lost more than $6 billion since= =20 2000 amid a steep drop in business travel, an intense fare war with=20 discount airlines and continued fallout from 9-11. Carty has kept a low=20 profile since leaving the company, granting just one interview, on business= =20 news channel CNBC. At the time, he said that while he had lots of options,= =20 he hadn't decided what he plans to do next. What Carty will get =95 A $13.5 million payment from the supplemental executive retirement plan,= =20 or $8.2 million after taxes. =95 $79,000 annually from the airline's defined- benefit pension plan. =95 Shares of stock and stock options he earned. =95 Full retiree health and travel benefits. 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