Christine Urmier-Widener was fired as president of TAP on 6 March. Disputing his resignation, the TAP CEO accuses two ministers, Fernando Medina and Pedro Nuno Santos, of illegal actions. It states that the dismissal must be done at a general meeting.
In total, the parliamentary commission of inquiry will hear about 60 people. Christina third. Last week, the heads of the General Inspectorate of Finance and the chairman of the board of directors, Manuel Beja, were heard.
in a minute
Updated April 4, 2023 | 19:32
Christine Urmier-Widener learned at a government press conference that she would be fired
TAP CEO admits: “I learned from the press conference” about his resignation.
“I had a meeting with the finance minister on the Sunday before the conference. At the meeting, he said that the situation is difficult, but did not tell me the information that he would be fired for a good reason. They never explained to me what was going to happen,” admits Christine Urmier-Widener.
“I received the notification more than a week after the press conference.”
Christine Urmier-Widener defends TAP’s high-profile evolution: “It’s not a tiny company, we don’t have planes on the ground.”
“In fact, my mission and national interest was that the plan was carried out when the plan was implemented. This is not a small step, we have 99 aircraft, TAP is a good company, it is not a small company, we do not have aircraft on the ground. We have one in Guinea, but it was after the accident. There are problems with the maintenance of technicians, because they are lured by a salary three times higher than in other companies. We have a very strict retention plan. If we don’t have results, we don’t have money to spend,” says Christine Urmier-Widener.
TAP has not paid any bonuses to the current team
“In the current company, bonuses were not paid to the team. I have a bonus in the contract, but nothing has been paid so far,” admits Christine Urmier-Widener about bonuses for TAP employees.
The lawyers who handled the compensation assured the TAP CEO that everything was legal.
“I don’t remember having any conversation about a public administrator with a guardianship,” assures Christine Urmier-Widener.
“Before, I was not aware of any irregularities in the process. The lawyers who dealt with this matter made sure that everything was legal,” defends the CEO of TAP.
The government did not want Christine Urmier-Widener to present positive TAP results.
The government did not want Christine Urmier-Widener to present positive results, which were only disclosed in a statement.
“I don’t speak Portuguese very well, but that’s what I understood,” the TAP CEO replies.
Christine Urmier-Widener admits political pressure from PS has hurt TAP
“I did not expect such political pressure when I joined the company. Political pressure kept us from focusing on business. It was not easy to navigate in such noise around the company. It was very difficult and still is,” admits TAP CEO.
Christine Urmier-Widener ensures that TAP’s legal department is aware of the issue.
“The legal department was aware. The complete document was sent to them on February 4th and then transferred to cmvm,” says Christine Urmier-Widener.
Christine Urmier-Widener later found out about Alexandra Reis’s email to Pedro Nun Santos.
Christine Urmier-Widener claims to have learned of Alexandra Reis’s email to Pedro Nuno Santos, acknowledging the possibility of leaving TAP at a later date.
“Later I found out that I knew nothing about this letter during the process,” he assured.
Christine Urmier-Widener confirms that she met with PS the day before the first audition.
Christine Urmier-Widener confirms that she was in a meeting with the PS the day before the first parliamentary hearing. The CEO of TAP only said this after confirming it in his personal agenda.
The airline’s president did not confirm the presence of any member of the government at this meeting. According to the Frenchwoman, the initiative of the meeting came from the office of the Ministry of Infrastructure.
TAP’s CEO does not know if Alexandra Reis withdrew from an agreement with the company, which is run by husband Christine Urmier-Widener.
TAP’s CEO does not know if Alexandra Reis withdrew from an agreement with the company, which is run by husband Christine Urmier-Widener.
Felipe Melo, Chega’s deputy, asked TAP’s CEO if Alexandra Reis’ response changed the relationship between them. “I don’t understand why people can say that,” says Christine Urmier-Widener.
Christine Urmier-Widener does not guarantee that TAP’s CFO knew the amount of compensation.
“I had more than one conversation [com Gonçalo Pires, CFO da TAP]. There was an exchange of messages when he saw that the deal was done,” says Christine Urmier-Widener.
“I can’t confirm that I knew the price [da indemnização].”
Christine Urmier-Widener on the amount of compensation: “I agreed on a decision, but did not accept it”
“I don’t think you can say that I have made a decision. I agreed on the decision, but did not accept it. I am the CEO, but I am not Portuguese, so I hired lawyers,” Christine guarantees. Urmier-Widener on the amount of compensation to Alexandra Kings.
“The Executive Committee is not a person, it is a team. There are a lot of delegated powers, I could never sign anything, two signatures are needed,” the CEO clarifies.
“I feel like a scapegoat in this political battle,” says Christine Urmier-Widener.
“I feel like a scapegoat in this political battle. No one throughout the process was aware that the settlement had been made in good faith by competent lawyers.
“I have a good relationship with Fernando Medina,” says Christine Urmier-Widener.
“I have a good relationship with Fernando Medina, there are always some more difficult issues, I had the opportunity to talk with him about TAP and the restructuring plan, so I feel like I had a good relationship with him,” said the CEO.
“We came to the following conclusion. An inconsistency has occurred. Alexandra Reis was very competent. We had very competitive designs, but we needed to make decisions to move forward. Flight was an “uncomfortable person”.
Questions begin for TAP CEO
“A senior executive like me is not respected,” says Christine Urmier-Widener.
“It was nothing personal. [o despedimento de Alexandra Reis]”, says the CEO.
“Alexandra Reis has not adapted to the strategy of the Executive Committee,” defends Christine Urmier-Widener.
Christine Urmier-Widener presents her goals for her hiring as president of TAP in a PowerPoint.
“Engineer Alexandra Reis was not adapted to the strategy of the executive committee. She did not have the necessary profile for this position, ”the CEO defends.
Christine Urmier-Widener explains the course of events leading up to the departure of Alexandra Reis.
“I did not take part in making any decisions on this issue,” Christine Urmier-Widener on the amount of compensation to Alexandra Reis.
Christine Urmier-Widener talks about the developments leading up to the departure of Alexandra Reis.
“February 4, there was an exchange of messages about the agreement, Sergio Estevez [advogado] de contacted TAP. He sent an email stating that Alexandra Reis had signed the agreement and, based on it, submitted a letter of resignation,” the TAP CEO said.
“I was not involved in making any decisions on this issue. I was in charge of coordination between lawyers, the Minister of Infrastructure and the Minister.”
“I did not know that I had the right to conclude an agreement. I didn’t know there was a legal risk because a very famous lawyer was involved,” concluded Urmier-Widener.
Author: morning Post
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Tifany Hawkins, a professional journalist with years of experience in news reporting. I currently work for a prominent news website and write articles for 24NewsReporters as an author. My primary focus is on economy-related stories, though I am also experienced in several other areas of journalism.