Hawaiian Telcom's board of directors approved a performance-based incentive plan that would pay company executives anywhere from $57,000 to $2.3 million if the company emerges from bankruptcy and meets a number of financial targets.

The company, in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, said the incentives were promised to the executives when they were hired, but had never been formalized by the board. The board approved the plan on Nov. 28, three days before the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The board adopted the plan "to offset the company's lack of an adequate long-term performance program and to align executive performance with the overall performance of the company during the company on-going balance sheet restructuring and for subsequent defined period of time," according to the filing.

The incentives, ranging from $57,000 to $2.3 million depending on position, are based on the long-term compensation commitments made to the executives at the time of hire.

"The actual amounts payable under the performance program are not guaranteed and may be less than or greater than the target performance incentives depending on actual company performance," according to the filing.