Swidarski gets $3.36 million on departing Diebold

Former Diebold boss Thomas W. Swidarski received a $3.36 million severance package when he was asked to leave the company in January.

The payout to Swidarski and two other former executives is spelled out in the proxy statement Diebold filed on Wednesday.

Swidarski stepped down as Diebold’s president and chief executive office on Jan. 19 and announced the move Jan. 24 as the company reported a fourth quarter loss. According to the proxy statement, Swidarski’s departure is “considered by the company as an involuntary termination without cause.”

Because he was terminated without cause, Swidarski was eligible for a severance package agreed to in his contract. It includes two years of his $840,000 base salary, bonus payments and two years continued participation in benefits plans, excluding pension and 401(k) plans. Swidarski also is subject to non-competition obligations for the next two years.

Diebold’s board has launched a search for a chief executive to replace Swidarski and is working with executive search firm Korn/Ferry.

There is no deadline to fill the position, but candidates are being interviewed, spokesman Michael Jacobsen. “The focus is on getting the right person,” he said.

Henry D.G. Wallace, a board member, has taken the post of executive chairman and is overseeing corporate operations. George S. Mayes Jr. moved to chief operating officer after serving several years as vice president of global operations.

Diebold’s proxy statement also outlines severance paid to Charles E. Ducey Jr., who stepped down Jan. 23 as executive vice president for North American operations following Swidarski’s departure, and Leslie A. Pierce, former vice president and corporate controller who left the company in August.