You can talk about standard complaints of CEOs with private jets, and I'd probably agree with you here, but there isn't anything particularly egregious here.
You can talk about standard complaints of CEOs with private jets, and I'd probably agree with you here, but there isn't anything particularly egregious here.
Different places/environments/skill levels have different costs, so what?
https://jobs.lever.co/Anthropic/9ba1d7b4-5b21-4ac9-86f3-875a...
If you get hired, reach out to me via my protonmail email (same username) to discuss sending my finder's fee ;)
Good lord. You hiring?
The rest is bs clickbait.
Seems like straight up embezzlement.
It’d be much cleaner ethically for him to get reimbursed the cost of a business class ticket and pay for his jet out of pocket if he can’t abide flying with the little people.
So even if it's "a drop in the bucket", it's also not really a company expense, just an outrageous compensation.
Like the guy already has a jet, which presumably he can afford to run.
Taking money out of an unprofitable company to pay for (somewhat) unreasonable personal expenses kinda feels off to me.
But then, maybe I'd feel differently if I had a private jet ;)
Definitely don't subcontract your own family's (edit: your own) "services company".
I am not trying to defend him, he is getting paid a lot:
"On May 5, 2023, the Board granted Mr. Aquila an award of 6,884,682 RSUs. These awards vest on May 5, 2024, subject to continuous service." [1]
At current stock price it is ~$20M. Getting outraged about additional $1.7M that was negotiated several years ago is strange. It does make a great headline, but would it change anything if he is paid $22M and pays for the jet out of pocket?
[1] https://ir.stockpr.com/canoo/sec-filings-email/content/00016...
Seems like the CEO's comfort when travelling should be a lot lower in the company's list of priorities, as it's losing hundreds of millions a year.
Maybe that can be achieved for less than $1.7M, I'm not informed enough. This source https://simpleflying.com/gulftream-g700-cost-to-own-operate-.... says it's a little more than $2M per year to operate a Gulfstream G700, I don't know what kind of jets CEOs are using these days.
> Canoo reimburses Aquila Family Ventures, an entity owned by the CEO, for use of an aircraft.
Would that pass muster?
Presumably you hire the employee for their time and expertise, not because they own a car and offer its use for company travel below market rate. (That does happen in many industries, but that's a market distortion we should look down on, not a yardstick for what's right)
With $2m on the line, it is worth it even just for the tax savings.
Edit: looks like private flights are actually much more dangerous than airlines, the insurance would probably prefer if you would fly public… (not my favorite source but the first thing I found: https://www.livescience.com/49701-private-planes-safety.html )
Most of the accidents involve small one-engine aircraft that owners personally fly. They're technically "private," but what's relevant here is large private planes like Gulfstreams, Bombardier Globals, Dassault Falcons, Boeing BBJs, and the like..they're safer than airlines.
With a private jet you can be at the airport and direct into your waiting car with security escort without anyone knowing, which can greatly reduce the chance of other issues occurring.
"Our management has performed an analysis of our ability to continue as a going concern and has identified substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. If we are unable to obtain sufficient additional funding or do not have access to additional capital, we will be unable to execute our business plans and could be required to terminate or significantly curtail our operations."
(Honestly, even if they had revenue in the hundreds of millions, it'd still be rather absurd.)