As Chief executive of Airbus Tom Enders is due to give up his position on April 10, 2019, he should not leave the company empty-handed. Enders’ departure check amounts to a total of €36.8 million, French media reports.
The sum, set in February 2019, was calculated by Proxinvest, a French financial analysis agency that regularly publishes information on the remuneration of company managers, and first made public by Le Monde. The check includes a €26.3 million retirement scheme, a share allocation of €7.3 million and a €3.2 million non-compete clause, valid for a year. Airbus confirmed the numbers to the French media, saying it was “consistent”.
Under Dutch law (Airbus headquarters are based in Leiden, near The Hague), shareholders are not consulted for retirement package attributions.
Despite the €3 billion net profit reported last year, and the order of 300 aircraft from China on March 25, 2019, the amount of this “golden handshake” might become a sensitive issue: with the production of the A380 to cease in 2021, between 3,000 and 3,500 jobs are currently on the line at the European manufacturer.
The retirement of Tom Enders was decided on December 15, 2017. He should be replaced by Guillaume Faury, current COO of Airbus Commercial Aircraft.