Sacked chief executive le Ferguson’s with £100k payo
It is entirely justified to call this a golden goodbye as this was a payment made a er a sacking and are the costs of termination
THE board of Ferguson’s made a unanimous decision to sack chief executive David Tydeman but still decided to give him a ‘golden goodbye’ worth well over £100,000, it has been revealed.
It comes as new details have emerged about directors raising concerns about how costs over the beleaguered ferry project were being handled.
The nationalised Port Glasgow shipyard drafted in a new external public relations agency to deal with the departure of Mr Tydeman. They had rebuffed questions over whether there was to be a pay off or how much it would be.
It has now been confirmed that the board of Ferguson Marine voted on whether to terminate Mr Tydeman’s contract and that the agreement was “unanimous”.
The former £232,500-a-year executive is receiving the equivalent of six months’ salary plus outstanding holiday payment as part of an agreement over his sacking.
The board say that the six months was his “contractual notice period”. Ferguson Marine deny that it is a ‘golden goodbye’, saying the payment was as per his employment contract.
But a ferry user group official said: “For me, it is entirely justified to call this a golden goodbye as this was a payment made after a sacking and are the costs of termination.”
Mr Tydeman was fired on March 26 after two years at the helm of the yard. It came after he told ministers there would be further delays to over-budget ferries Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa.
Andrew Miller, the chairman of Ferguson Marine said in confirming the departure of Mr Tydeman that the company needed “strong leadership” to ensure its long-term future.
It was not until April 30 that Mr Tydeman’s position as a director of the nationalised shipyard firm and its subsidiaries was officially terminated.
It has further emerged that board members were concerned two months before Mr Tydeman was sacked that they were “substantially adrift” from the latest budget for the delivery of the two ferries.
A document detailing one discussion says that Mr Miller had asked Mr Tydeman what assurance he could give over the rising costs, while another director, Chris Mackay, said it was an “uncomfortable place to be in”.
Another director, Dr Stuart Smith, with over 35 years experience in the oil, gas and subsea contracting sectors, talked of “several concerns” over the financials and sought a considered two week response to what was happening “given the gravity and importance of the situation”.
And another director, John Petticrew, who would become Mr Tydeman’s replacement, suggested the biggest issue was that they had underestimated the impact of the use of the socalled green fuel LNG on the project.
Mr Tydeman has said he does not understand why he had his contract terminated, saying he was proud of what he had achieved at Ferguson’s.
Mr Petticrew, a fourth generation shipbuilder has temporarily relocated to the UK for his new job.
He has since confirmed that the target for the Glen Sannox handover for use by ferry operator CalMac will not be until July 31 - after more months of delay. Once handed over, there will be a two month period where CalMac will carry out crew familiarisation and network trials.
Mr Petticrew admitted that the installation and commissioning of the ‘green fuel’ liquefied natural gas (LNG) on the two ferries remains “particularly challenging”.
He said following his appointment, the team has now determined a “more focused approach” to the completion of the Glen Sannox.
Mr Tydeman was at the centre of controversy when it was revealed last year he got an estimated £20,000 golden hello while standing to gain up to £80,000 in bonus payments.
He received £1,000 a day for just over eight weeks work at the start of his time with the nationalised company thanks to a salary boost.
Mr Tydeman received around £57,500 for the first two months of his appointment over £20,000 more than the prorata rate.
The extra payments in terms of salary were given in the form of “recruitment costs” and a relocation package for Mr Tydeman establishing a base in the local area.