Managers of the bankrupt solar energy firm Solyndra received $368,500 in court-ordered bonuses, effective March 31, 2012. The Department of Energy awarded the company $535 million in stimulus funds less than two years before it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. According to CNSNews:
A bankruptcy court ordered $368,500 in bonuses for 20 top managers and employees of Solyndra, the solar panel firm that received $535 million from taxpayers two years before filing for bankruptcy and laying off 11,000 employees. …
Most of the bonuses awarded were between $15,000 and $25,000, with the three top beneficiaries receiving $30,000, while the three lowest received $10,000 each. …
Court documents referred to the bonuses as a "Key Employee Incentive Plan." The ruling determined the payouts to be "in the best interests of the Debtors, their creditors and all other parties in interest."