Employees unhappy about CEO’s $8 million bonus

DETROIT — Delphi Corp. wants to pay Executive Chairman Steve Miller $8.3 million for his work steering the company through a high-stakes and complex Chapter 11 bankruptcy case.

The Troy, Mich.-based auto supplier detailed in court papers how much it plans to award Miller and CEO Rodney O’Neal when the company leaves bankruptcy protection.

Management compensation is typically a lightning rod in bankruptcy cases. Unions had indicated that they would challenge bonuses in Delphi’s compensation plans.

Mike O’Donnell, shop chairman of Local 717 of the International Union of Electrical Workers in Warren, noted that Delphi still is losing money and Miller hasn’t led the company out of bankruptcy yet.

“Now they’re going to give him a bonus?” O’Donnell asked. “I don’t know how much more ridiculous it can get in this country.”

In a separate filing Monday, Delphi said it lost $231 million in November on sales of $1.1 billion. For the year through November, the company lost $2.8 billion on revenue of $14.3 billion.

For more on this story, see Thursday’s Vindicator or www.vindy.com.