The judge overseeing PG&E Corp.’s bankruptcy case on Friday questioned how the company is handling the compensation of its top executives, including senior leaders who stand to benefit from a performance bonus plan that could be worth nearly $11 million.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali told a PG&E attorney that he took issue with the company’s argument that the payments were necessary to “appropriately incentivize” 12 executives. He said the leaders should be motivated to perform well by virtue of their positions at the bankrupt company, which is responsible for wildfires that killed dozens of people and incinerated thousands of homes.

“If they’re not incentivized enough, they ought to find another job, frankly,” he said at a hearing in San Francisco.

PG&E attorney Stephen Karotkin called the executives “very dedicated employees” who were working “very hard to ... right the system and regain the trust of the state of California.” The judge did not immediately rule on the matter.

Montali also did not take action on the compensation package of PG&E’s new CEO, Bill Johnson, whose pay was not included in the company’s performance bonus request. The judge called it “troublesome” that the company did not disclose that it had already paid Johnson a $3 million signing bonus, though he said he would not order Johnson to return the money.

Montali was also concerned about how Johnson would be paid if he is terminated without cause during the bankruptcy case, citing conflict between the CEO’s contract and bankruptcy law. He took the matter under advisement.

Separately, an attorney for state utility regulators told Montali that they have been unable to reach agreement on setting up a new way to vet plans for restructuring PG&E.

Montali agreed about two weeks earlier to let the parties try to develop the alternate process, which the state sought in order to avoid a potentially chaotic courtroom evaluation of competing proposals for getting PG&E out of bankruptcy protection.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office and the California Public Utilities Commission said they are concerned that if Montali allows too many proposals to move forward at once, PG&E might not be able to resolve its bankruptcy case by the end of June. If PG&E misses the deadline, it can’t access a $21 billion fund that would help cover wildfire costs, as spelled out in a bill Newsom signed into law last month.

Alan Kornberg, an attorney for the utilities commission, told Newsom that groups in the case disagree over how much involvement PG&E should have in choosing the best restructuring plan. Some thought the company should have “no role in selecting a plan,” Kornberg said, without naming names.

Kornberg said the commission, which also needs to sign off on a PG&E restructuring plan, needs to know by January which proposal to evaluate.

Montali took no action on the matter. He is scheduled to consider motions on Tuesday that would end PG&E’s sole right to file a plan of reorganization.

J.D. Morris is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jd.morris@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @thejdmorris