Bankruptcy court approves Mark Welch as chief restructuring officer to wind-down the company<\/p>\n
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The chief restructuring officer that Freedom Industries may hire to help wind down business after its leak contaminated the water for 300,000 West Virginians won't come cheap. <\/p>\n
According to a motion filed by Freedom, Mark Welch will be paid either an hourly rate of $425 or a fixed weekly fee of $17,000 for the first six weeks and $12,750 after that, whichever is less. <\/p>\n
Welch said his work will actually result in efficiency and savings. <\/p>\n
He said the company will save about $1 million by hiring him. <\/p>\n
Freedom's motion was approved Tuesday by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Ronald Pearson. <\/p>\n
Pearson said Welch's hiring marks a \"substantial change in management\" for Freedom. Welch said he doesn't know how much additional services will be needed of the company's current president Gary Southern. <\/p>\n
At the beginning of the hearing, Pearson asked why existing officers couldn't handle the wind down process. Welch responded Southern has been a \"very good operator\" and has stabilized operations. However, he said the next phase will be more difficult. <\/p>\n
\"It's hard to balance the balls in the air in a short period of time,\" Welch said, noting eliminating the amount of responsibilities would greatly help. <\/p>\n
The court did not take up Southern's Saturday motion to get paid. A committee of unsecured creditors intends to file an objection to this motion. <\/p>\n
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TODAY: Judge approves officer to head next steps of Freedom bankruptcy<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Bankruptcy court approves Mark Welch as chief restructuring officer to wind-down the company CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The chief restructuring officer that Freedom Industries may hire to help wind down business after its leak contaminated the water for 300,000 West Virginians won't come cheap Continue reading