SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Northern California utility Pacific Gas & Electric says it won't award $130 million in employee bonuses because of its recent bankruptcy filing.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported Saturday that interim chief executive John Simon cited California's deadly wildfires and the company's precarious financial state in an internal email message to workers on Friday. He said senior leaders and the company's board of directors supported the decision.
John Mader, president of the union representing 3,700 engineers and scientists opposed the decision, says it's unfair to punish workers who had nothing to do with the company's financials nor were at fault for the wildfires.
Consumer Watchdog president Jamie Court supported the decision but should have been announced earlier.
PG&E filed for bankruptcy last month saying it faced $30 billion in wildfire liability.
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Activist Erin Brockvich was in Sacramento on Tuesday to urge lawmakers to not let PG&E go bankrupt because it could mean less money for wildfire victims. PG&E announced last week it plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy because it can't afford to pay at least $30 billion in expected damages due to deadly 2017 and 2018 Northern California wildfires.