Arconic’s Compensation Payouts Favor Shareholders Over Grenfell Victims, Report Finds

A new investigation by the think-tank Common Wealth and the financial-investigations group FIND shows that Arconic paid $74 million (£54.7 million) to its shareholders for economic loss after the Grenfell Tower fire, while only $43 million (£31.8 million) went to the estates of the fire’s victims and survivors. The report argues the disparity highlights how corporate structures can allow firms to “move on” while affected communities continue to suffer.

The Guardian

The official public inquiry into the June 2017 Grenfell fire concluded that Arconic’s Reynobond PE aluminium composite material was the “primary cause” of the rapid spread of the blaze and that the company “deliberately and dishonestly concealed” the product’s danger. The inquiry noted that Reynobond PE accounted for less than 1 percent of Arconic’s annual sales at the time and that the firm has not traced the remaining material sold worldwide.

The Guardian

Across both the shareholder and victim settlements, all but $2 million was covered by Arconic’s insurers, according to the Common Wealth report. The investigation also revealed that the company sold 12.75 million sq m of Reynobond globally over at least two decades before the fire.

The Guardian

Grenfell United, representing bereaved families, said the findings expose a failure of legal mechanisms to hold corporations accountable. Common Wealth researcher Leela Jadhav called for punitive damages to be made available in England and Wales and for courts to direct a portion of shareholder settlements to victim funds. The report urges that Arconic be debarred from public contracts in England until it discloses where the remaining material was sold. Arconic declined to comment.

The Guardian

The UK government has pledged a maximum of £5.1 billion for cladding removal, including £600 million for an ACM Cladding Remediation Fund. The report argues that punitive damages against Arconic could cover these expenses without additional public cost, underscoring calls for stronger corporate-misconduct laws to prevent similar disparities in future disasters.

The Guardian