The world’s largest telecommunications equipment maker and Toronto-based, Nortel Networks, has just won an approval by Canadian and American courts to pay out US $7.3 million to upper management.

Nortel filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on January 14, 2009. Under the new restructuring plans, the company plans to cut up to 5,000 jobs by the end of 2009, most recently announcing 3,200 new job cuts.

Nortel’s Chief Counsel Derrick Tay supports the payout and said today “You need to keep the good people to make sure this restructuring is successful…” despite thousands of employees have been denied severance.