There’s pain at Tim Hortons headquarters these days, with the company laying off some 350 people at headquarters and regional offices, in the wake of its merger with Burger King owner 3G Capital.
But the pain isn’t limited to the rank and file; the company’s top execs are going to have to cut back too, because the newly formed company is selling its executive jet.
Tim Hortons’ slick 2003 Gulfstream G100 that carted top Timmies execs to (presumably) meetings with Juan Valdez and coffee-tasting soirees has been put up for sale at an asking price of $3.5 million, according to J.A. Spears, the company selling the jet.
The Globe and Mail notes the move is in keeping with the reputation of Timmies’ new owners, who are “notorious for their single-minded dedication to efficiency and cost controls, including staff cutbacks and fat-trimming at acquired companies.”
J.A. Spears’ founder, Jamie Spears, says there's a difference in how U.S. and Canadian executives approach things like private jets. While American execs like to show off wealth, Canadian ones are more modest.
"In Canada we have this sense of 'Gosh, we shouldn't do this, shareholders are going to ask questions.'"
But Spears argues it actually makes financial sense for companies like Tim Hortons to own an executive jet -- because it’s cheaper than paying your highest-paid people to fly commercial.
“If you’ve got someone earning $8 million, do you want them wasting hours at Pearson Terminal 2?”
Touché.
Check out the jet Tim Hortons is selling:
