Seven canned ICBC executives are receiving golden parachutes along with their pink slips, according to numbers provided by the Crown insurance corporation.
ICBC says the nearly $2 million in combined severance payments -- which range from an estimated $100,000 to more than $389,000 -- are being honoured based on the executives’ contracts and employment law.
Altogether, it would take 922 years’ worth of single-vehicle insurance premiums to pay for the severance.
Premier Christy Clark blasted the payments on Thursday as “ridiculous,” but acknowledged there’s nothing that can be done to stop them.
“We’re bound by the contracts we signed. What I can say is it’s expensive to restructure, but w’ere going to save more money every year as a result.”
The axed executive positions are among 250 jobs the company announced it was eliminating last week in the wake of a scathing government review that demanded $50 million in budget cuts by the end of 2013.
The total severance payments for all 250 jobs is expected to cost $26 million, though the company says it also stands to save $29 million per year moving forward.
The executive severances are not finalized, according to ICBC, and may vary depending on whether the individuals find other employment during the notice period.
Estimates include:
- $389,158 for senior vice-president of claims Craig Horton
- $362,394 for senior vice-president of corporate affairs Donnie Wing
- $285,033 for vice-president of marketing Jeff Schulz
- $280,000 for chief information officer Ward Chapin
- $250,575 for vice-president of licensing Fred Hess
- $100,000 for general counsel Andre Beaulieu
- $86,000 for vice-president of claims programs Shelly Russell
With a report from CTV British Columbia’s Jon Woodward
