BIXI paid out bonuses before filing for bankruptcy protection

Managers at BIXI are defending their decision to hand out hundreds of thousands of dollars in bonuses just weeks before the company filed for bankruptcy protection.

BIXI paid a total of $232,000 to 39 permanent employees in December, including $14,000 to acting CEO Michel Philibert.

It's a real scandal. It's unacceptable,- Richard Bergeron, Projet Montral leader

A few weeks later in late January the citys bike-sharing company filed for bankruptcy protection.

Montreal city councillorsfound out about the bonus payments todayand say theyre shocked and outraged.

It's a real scandal. It's unacceptable. They will have to reimburse us," said Projet Montral leader Richard Bergeron.

BIXI owes Montreal taxpayers $30 millionand other creditors another $20 million.

BIXI says bonuses are legal

BIXIs CEO Michel Philibert said the payments were written into the employees contractsand approved by the board of directors.

He also said that when the bonuses were paid out in December, BIXI managers still believed they could avoid bankruptcy protection.

Its not as if we said, We're going bankrupt tomorrow let's pay ourselves bonuses now, Philibert said.

Mayor says citys hands are tied

Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre said BIXI officials should have handled the situation differently.

I would have liked to have known,as a creditor,and this was done in December when we were already looking at the situation for ways to save BIXI. So, its not classy, Coderre said.

Coderre added thatit appears the bonus payments were legal, and if they were written into the employees' contracts, theres nothing the city can do to recoup the money.