Feels like the process used to write this article was “find a small dollar number related to the derailment and put it next to a big dollar number that isn’t related to the derailment”. Your average viral twitter dunk has more thought than this.
Sure, the buyback plans were made before the derailment, but the fact that plans haven't change shows how little they care about the victims versus their profits.
Even ignoring individual blame, there is the question whether as a society we should allow corporations in general to distribute huge sums of money to their shareholders after a fiscally-significant incident like this. Victims will require compensation, probably for decades. If the company reorganizes or folds in bankruptcy -- which seems somewhat likely -- we the taxpayers will be stuck holding the bag.
Sure. But maybe $1.1b won't be enough. Postpone the buyback, just in case.