Toys ‘R’ Us, which filed for bankruptcy in September, is seeking court approval to pay $16 million in bonuses to its senior leadership, including Chief Executive David Brandon.

The company said in a bankruptcy court filing Tuesday it needs to pay the incentive bonuses to senior managers as the toy retailer gears up for its critical holiday season, where it generates 40% of its yearly net sales.

“The stress on the debtors’ operations (and its senior management team) has been lasting and continues, as efforts continue to stabilize the world-wide enterprise and position the company to win during the all-important holiday season,” said the company’s lawyers at Kirkland & Ellis.

A group comprised of Vornado Realty Trust and private-equity firms KKR & Co. and Bain Capitalbought the toy retailer for $6.6 billion in 2005. In addition to Mr. Brandon, who previously served at the helm of Domino’s Pizza , another Bain-owned company, the bonuses cover 16 other top executives, including Kevin Macnab, president of Toys ‘R’ Us International and Carla Hassan, global chief marketing officer who joined in February.

The bonuses are tied to performance targets and milestones specified by lenders and payable if the company achieves earnings for 2017 at 30% below last year’s level.