WS
Atkins, the PFI consulting and management group, have sparked another ‘fat cat’
outcry after awarding ex-CEO Robin Southwell a £400,000 pay-off despite two
profit warnings and a collapse in share price.
The
day after Southwell resigned, shares in Atkins fell 72 per cent, which prompted
a new cost-cutting programme and 400 job losses.
Atkins
chairman Tim Jeffries defended the alleged "reward for failure",
saying Southwell received his contractual entitlement of a year’s pay in lieu
of notice.
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He
said that any compensation to future directors will be limited if they are
dismissed after being found to be at fault.
