Managment Bonuses

https://nypost.com/2022/10/05/amtraks-1 ... e-bonuses/

"The 10 highest paid Amtrak executives raked in six-figure bonuses in 2021 – in one instance nearly doubling a senior-level executive’s salary – despite the rail network struggling with low ridership and plummeting revenues, The Post has learned."

What else is new?

To be fair, the unions also want private sector compensation regardless if the company is profitable, so.... don't criticize the execs unless you want to be paid as government employees vs. a railroad union scale.

It's not uncommon in the private sector to have executive compensation have only 20-60% of their total compensation guaranteed (e.g. base) and for 40-80% be at-risk (either cash bonuses or stock grants/options) and are dependent on meeting operational or financial targets. Some companies go even deeper and guarantee <10% with >90% at-risk.

When I was still playing in that arena (consulting), my incentive compensation was at least 40% of my salary. But I was working at a company with a >40% margin on its earnings.

Posted this as information. Been here for close to 25 years and all I can say is same circus different clowns. However when you see equipment in a state of such bad repair that it makes the Penn Central look good, well... There are days the GF at the shop is scrambling for power just to cover the service. Continually writing up issues and you see the same answers on the paperwork like can not duplicate or N I F (No Issues Found). The same cabs that smell like sewers in the middle of summer and are a cool comfortable 50 degrees with the heat on in winter it becomes a grind.

^ Now you are talking !!

It's been apparent to me for many years that Amtrak's management has the job of failing to run a railroad. Looked at in this way, Amtrak's management is doing the job it has been hired to do and so deserves its bonuses. I keep hoping for an Amtrak board that will reverse this state of affairs but it seems that both parties are united in not wanting a board that will try to actually find managers who want to run a railroad, and who have the ability to do so.