Rogers has refuted claims made by its former Chief Regulatory Officer, Ted Woodhead, in his wrongful dismissal lawsuit against the company, according to the telecom’s recently filed statement of defence made last week.
Contrary to Woodhead’s claim that he was central to the success of the $20 billion Shaw deal, Rogers argued, “Mr. Woodhead did not lead the negotiations,” reports The Globe and Mail. The company further explained that others within the organization had to take up a larger role due to what they described as “inadequacies in his performance.”
The statement of defence went on to justify Woodhead’s termination, arguing it was on a “without cause basis” due to persistent performance issues.
In a direct counter to Woodhead’s assertion of being wrongfully deprived of a Shaw bonus, Rogers stated, “The Shaw bonus was not intended to compensate employees for work that was completed before the deal closed, but rather to incentivize them to achieve cost savings and growth during the process of integrating the two companies over the following years.”
In response to Woodhead’s portrayal of himself as a “conscientious and diligent employee,” Rogers said, “Mr. Woodhead’s performance was not praised,” and “his 2023 long-term incentive award was below target because of his poor performance.”
The telecom company added that his performance issues were a recurring problem throughout the second half of 2022 and 2023, leading up to his termination.
In his lawsuit, Woodhead is seeking roughly $350,000 in incentive compensation, along with $2.46-million in deferred compensation, and $1.89-million for a “reasonable notice period of 16 months.”
Rogers has called for the lawsuit to be dismissed, emphasizing that Woodhead’s claims were without merit, and seeks reimbursement of legal costs.
The Rogers-Shaw merger resulted in numerous duplicate roles and according to a recent report, about 1,200 employees have taken up voluntary exit packages.
