MONTREAL — Bombardier's senior executives saw their compensation rise by nearly 50 per cent last year at a time when it laid off thousands of workers, sought government aid and saw the first CSeries passenger jet take flight. Total compensation for the Montreal-based company's top five executives and board chairman Pierre Beaudoin was US$32.6 million in 2016, up from US$21.9 million the year before, according to a proxy circular ahead of its May 11 annual meeting. CEO Alain Bellemare received US$9.5 million, up from US$6.4 million in 2015, including US$5.2 million in share and option-based awards and a US$1 million salary.

Bombardier President and CEO Alain Bellemare next to a Global 5000 aircraft Tuesday, February 7, 2017 in Montreal. (Photo: The Canadian Press/Paul Chiasson) Bellemare's annual bonus almost doubled to US$2.36 million. Beaudoin's compensation increased to US$5.25 million from US$3.85 million a year earlier. In the regulatory filing, Bombardier attributed the higher compensation to a number of factors, including achieving profit and cash flow targets, securing CSeries orders and completing the first flight of the Global 7000 business jet. Bellemare was also credited with achieving earnings at the high end of the company's guidance, exceeding profit margin targets in all business segments and making significant progress on achieving the company's plan to revive its fortunes. Company spokesman Simon Letendre added that a large portion of the compensation is not guaranteed. "For instance, 85 per cent of the compensation of the president and CEO is at risk and 28 per cent is comprised of stock options whose value depends on the appreciation of the Bombardier stock, something that would of course benefit all shareholders,'' he wrote in an email.