Top managers at TNT Express and PostNL received millions of euros in extra payments when the express delivery service was split from postal delivery last year.

The money came from the sale of shares during a period when the share value of both companies had fallen, says the Volkskrant, quoting PostNL’s annual report for 2011.
Peter Bakker, CEO of TNT Post before the split, received nearly €900,000 extra. This, together with other benefits and a golden handshake of €2.6m, brought his pay-off to €4.5m.
Job losses
The postal delivery arm was responsible for the pay-outs because it is the official successor to TNT Post. Now known as PostNL, the company lost €4m on shares sale, with €1.2m going to top management.
TNT CEO Marie-Christine Lombard and PostNL CEO Harry Koorstra both received €182,000 from the shares sale.
News of the pay-outs is particularly painful because PostNL is currently making thousands of postal workers redundant and because it is refusing to top up its pension fund.
On Monday PostNL announced a fall in volume of 7% in 2011 but stable sales at some €4.3bn. Net profit was €1.7bn due to the sale of TNT Express.