NEW YORK, Feb. 2 (UPI) -- American International Group plans to pay $100 million in bonuses this week to employees in its Financial Products division, sources said Tuesday.
Financial Products was the branch of the insurance giant that came close to destroying AIG by investments in derivatives. Citing people close to the situation, The Washington Post reported employees who agreed to receive less compensation than their contracts call for are getting their bonuses a month early on Wednesday.
Almost all Financial Products employees, 97 percent, agreed to a 10 percent cut in bonuses in exchange for early payment, the Post said. Former employees were asked to give up 20 percent, and only 35 percent have agreed, one source said.
Last March, news that AIG was paying $168 million in bonuses after receiving billions of dollars in bailout money from the federal government caused widespread outrage.
"This lets us, as a business, pivot away from this issue," one Financial Products employee said. "Current employees stepped up. They want to continue to do their business. They obviously want to get beyond this."
