Mega supermarket chairman returns bonus amid furor
Avigdor Kaplan says NIS 560,000 bonus was not linked to work at Mega; 2,500 employees could lose jobs if ailing company shutters
Avigdor Kaplan, chairman of Alon Blue Square Israel, the parent company of the ailing Mega supermarket chain, agreed Thursday to return a controversial bonus of NIS 560,000 ($140,000) that he received just a week before the chain’s collapse.
“I am aware of the public criticism regarding the bonus and its mistaken association with my work at Mega. My heart is with the workers and their families and therefore I have decided to hand over the full amount for the benefit of Mega employees. I am taking a check with the full amount over to Histadrut Labor Union chairman Avi Nissenkorn who will decide on the way the funds will be used to benefit employees,” Kaplan told Israeli media.
Kaplan was sharply criticized by company employees, 2,500 of whom are likely to lose their jobs if the company shutters next month, when a court-ordered delay of its closure expires.
On Monday, Kaplan was heckled by employees as he arrived at the Lod District Court for hearings on the company’s future. Employees shouted “thief,” the financial journal Globes reported.
The chain was granted 30 days’ protection from creditors Monday, and was expected to appoint trustees who would be charged with keeping the company alive until a buyer could be found.
The company had requested a 60-day grace period.
After announcing he would return the bonus, Kaplan said the original report was mistaken.
“I am employed by Alon Oil Israel and I receive my one and only salary from them for all the roles that I fill within the group,” he told Channel 2. “The bonus given to me by Alon Israel is determined and approved by its Board of Directors and paid by it. Alon Oil is the parent company of Blue Square, who is the parent company of Mega. I didn’t receive any compensation from Mega for my tenure as the chairman of its board of directors.”
Kaplan also told Globes earlier this week: “Making an issue of the bonus is completely unfair. I work three jobs around the clock and earn a third of what my predecessor made. I didn’t get a penny from Mega.”
Several senior managers in the Mega supermarket chain received large bonuses just prior to the company’s financial crisis, according to reports this week. The chain, the second largest in Israel, owes some NIS 1.2 billion ($300 million).
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.