Document:

exv10w37

EXHIBIT 10.37

September 28, 2007

Mr. Jacques P. Vachon

484 avenue Wood

Westmount, Quebec

H3Y 3J2

Re: Offer letter

Dear Jacques,

We are pleased to offer you the position of Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Chief
Legal Officer, in the new AbitibiBowater, Inc. The following are details as agreed upon on this
date:

Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Effective Date:

The offer is contingent on conclusion of the Merger and will be effective at such date.

Compensation:

Your annual base salary, effective the date of the merger, will be US$340,000. You will be
eligible to participate in a short-term incentive plan with a target level of 50% of your base
salary. In addition, you will receive a signing bonus of US$30,000, to be paid as soon as
practical following the closing.

We will request that the Human Resources and Compensation Committee (HRCC) of the new company, at
its first meeting, approve base compensation and incentive targets for the new executive team and
approve several compensation redesigns. We anticipate closing the 2007 Annual Incentive Plan
effective with the merger and will substitute a new plan for the remainder of 2007 and all of 2008,
emphasizing achievement of synergies.

Additionally, for executives at your level, we will request an equity award tied to synergy
achievement. We anticipate continuing annual equity grants of similar value as you currently
receive and a target level of ownership of common shares may be required. Previous equity awards
will roll-over into the New Company and will be paid according to the initial payout schedule.

You will also be eligible for a perquisite allowance of US$12,000 per year as well as a complete
annual medical examination.

Other benefits:

Subject to the approval of the new HRCC, you will be covered by an employment agreement and a new
Change in Control (CIC) agreement.

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You will maintain your current participation in various benefit plans such as pension, group
insurance and vacation. However, following the merger, the new company intends to harmonize
certain benefits offered to salaried employees, including senior executives, which may lead to
changes in the current benefits. You will be informed about any changes at the appropriate time.

We are excited about the prospects of the combination of the two companies and look forward to
having you join us on the leadership team. It will be a challenge.

Please acknowledge receipt of this offer letter and agreement with its terms by signing the two
originals and returning one copy to Viateur Camiré on or before October 3, 2007.

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 
	          /s/ John W. Weaver

	 	 	 	          /s/ David J. Paterson
	 	 
	 

	 	 	 	 	 	 
	John W. Weaver

	 	 	 	David J. Paterson	 	 
	Executive Chairman

	 	 	 	President and Chief Executive Officer	 	 
	 
	 	 	 	 	 	 
	I accept this offer:
	 	 	 	 	 	 
	 
	 	 	 	 	 	 
	          /s/ Jacques Vachon

	 	 	 	          3 October 2007	 	 
	 

	 	 	 	 	 	 
	Jacques Vachon

	 	 	 	Date	 	 

 2/2exv10w46

EXHIBIT 10.46

January 30, 2009

Jon Melkerson will receive a performance and retention award of $100,000, less applicable
deductions, payable for 2009, as soon as practical following execution of this document. The award
may be subject to addition of performance objectives as determined by the CEO. The employee will
reimburse the company for the same amount should he leave the company at any time during 2009.

Jon will be eligible for a similar award for 2010 and 2011 at the discretion of the Chief Executive
Officer.

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 
	/s/ Jim Wright

	 	 	 	/s/ Jon Melkerson
	 	 
	 

	 	 	 	 	 	 
	Jim Wright

	 	 	 	Jon Melkerson	 	 

Payment verbally authorized by Dave Paterson on January 30, 2009 under the terms of his delegation
of authority from the Board of Directors.exv10w53

EXHIBIT 10.53

October 17, 2007

Mr. Joseph B. Johnson

208 Northbrook Way

Greenville, SC 29615

Re: Offer letter

Dear Joe,

I am pleased to offer you the position of Vice-President, Corporate Controller, in the new
AbitibiBowater, Inc. The following are details as agreed upon on this date:

Location:

For the time being, you may maintain an office in the Greenville, South Carolina area and you will
continue to be an employee of Bowater Incorporated, as well as AbitibiBowater. During this interim
time, you will be paid by Bowater Incorporated. However, you will be required eventually to
relocate to the head office located in Montreal. The effective relocation date will be discussed
and determined in the year 2008.

Effective Date:

The effective date is the closing of the merger (“Closing Date”). This offer is contingent on the
conclusion of the merger, your being authorized to work in Canada and subject to approval of the
Human Resources and Compensation Committee (“HRCC”) of the new company of various compensation
items.

Base Salary:

Your annual base salary, effective the date of the merger, will be US$270,000.

Incentives and Perquisites:

We will request that the HRCC approve compensation plan redesigns as soon as practical following
the closing. You will be eligible to participate in a short-term incentive plan with a target
level of 40% of your base salary. We expect to terminate the current 2007 Annual Incentive Plan on
the Closing Date and to pay the resulting bonus as soon as practicable. We will substitute a new
plan for the remainder of 2007 and all of 2008, emphasizing the achievement of synergies.

Additionally, we anticipate continuing annual equity grants of similar value as you currently
receive. We also anticipate a stock ownership requirement for key executives will be required.
Previous equity awards will roll-over into the new Company and will be paid according to the
initial payout schedule.

 1/3

 

You will be eligible for a perquisite allowance of US$7,000 per year as well as a complete annual
medical examination.

Benefits:

Group Insurance and Retirement Benefits:

As long as you have dependants that remain in the United-States, you will have the choice to
continue to participate in US group insurance and pension plans or to begin participation in the
Bowater Canadian group insurance and pension plans.

Please refer to Paula Ferreira, Carol Hinton or Aaron Whitlock for more details on the Canadian
Plans.

HR Policies and Procedures:

You will maintain your current vacation entitlement. You will also be entitled to all other Human
Resources policies applicable to the Montreal, Head office location.

Harmonization:

Following the merger, the new company intends to harmonize certain benefits offered to salaried
employees, which may lead to changes in the current benefits. You will be informed about any
changes at the appropriate time.

Relocation to Montreal:

In order to facilitate the relocation process, we have assigned Paula Ferreira to coordinate all
aspects of your relocation. Please feel free to contact her at your earliest convenience at (514)
954-2988 or ferreirap@bowater.com.

The international relocation policy, which is enclosed, governs the general terms and conditions of
your relocation to Montreal. The relocation benefits will include a lump sum of $83,587 as a
housing and cost of living offset, which will be payable only when you begin the relocation process
and will be subject to Canadian taxes. This payment includes an amount attributable to the higher
Canadian tax rate. In addition, considering your special circumstance, the Company will provide an
education allowance for a period of three years, up to a maximum of $15,000/per child per year.

In the event that you voluntarily terminate your employment or are terminated with cause, before
the first anniversary of the effective date of this offer letter, you agree to reimburse all
amounts incurred by the Company, computed on an aftertax basis, under the international relocation
policy for your relocation to Montreal, on a prorated basis based on time worked during the
one-year period.

Other:

Subject to the approval of the HRCC, you will be covered by a Change in Control agreement similar
to your current agreement as well as an employment contract.

 2/3

 

We are excited about the prospects of the combination of the two companies and look forward to
continuing to provide you with opportunities for personal and professional development.

Yours truly,

/s/ William G. Harvey

William G. Harvey

Senior Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer

To indicate your acceptance of this offer, please sign in the space provided below and return a
copy of this letter to Jim Wright’s attention.

(a) I have had an adequate opportunity to read and consider this offer of employment and to obtain
such legal or other advice in regard to it as I considered advisable; and

(b) I am signing this offer of employment voluntarily, without coercion, and without reliance on
any representation, expressed or implied, by AbitibiBowater other than those contained herein.

I accept the offer as above:

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 
	/s/ Joseph B. Johnson

	 	 	 	10-18-2007
	 	 
	 

	 	 	 	 	 	 
	Joseph B. Johnson

	 	 	 	Date	 	 

 3/3exv10w56

EXHIBIT 10.56

AMENDMENT TO

AMENDED AND RESTATED

CHANGE IN CONTROL AGREEMENT

     THE AMENDED AND RESTATED CHANGE IN CONTROL AGREEMENT, dated January 25, 2006, between Bowater
Incorporated (the “Corporation”) and Joseph B. Johnson (the “Executive”) is hereby amended as
follows:

     1. It is agreed that the transaction by which the Corporation became a subsidiary of
AbitibiBowater Inc. did not constitute a Change in Control, and that henceforth the definition of
Change in Control shall be interpreted as if AbitibiBowater Inc. were the Corporation.

     2. A new paragraph (v) is added at the end of Section 1 to read as follows:

	 	“(v)	 	The phrase ‘termination of employment’ or ‘employment is terminated’ (whether
or not capitalized) shall mean a separation from service as defined in Section 409A of
the Internal Revenue Code (the ‘Code’), any reference to the Executive’s employment
being terminated shall mean that the Executive has incurred a separation from service
as so defined, and any reference to the effective date of a termination shall mean the
date on which the Executive has incurred a separation from service.”

     3. Section 4(b) is amended by deleting the second to the last paragraph (“Unless otherwise
required in the next paragraph . . .”) and amending the last paragraph to read as follows:

“Amounts payable pursuant to subsections (b)(i)-(vi), shall be made in a lump sum
not later than ten (10) business days following the Executive’s Termination Date,
except as otherwise provided below. If the Executive is a ‘designated employee,’ as
defined in Section 409A of the Code, on the date on which he incurs a termination of
employment, then payment shall be deferred until the first business day that is more
than six months after the Executive has incurred a termination of employment (such
six month period being hereinafter referred to as the ‘409A Deferral Period’). If
the Executive dies during the 409A Deferral Period, the payment shall be made
instead, within ten (10) business days following his death, to the person designated
by the Executive in writing, or if no such person is designated, to the Executive’s
estate. The benefits the Executive is entitled to receive pursuant to subsections
(b)(i)-(vi) shall be a substitute for any salary or severance payments or benefits
under the provisions of any Employment Agreement then in effect (the ‘other
severance’), and if the other severance constitutes deferred compensation subject to
Section 409A of the Code, the applicable payment provided in subsections (b)(i)-(vi)
shall be paid in accordance with the same schedule of payments provided for the
other severance for which it serves as a substitute, to the extent the payment
provided in subsection (b)(i)-(vi) does not exceed the other severance, except that
no such payment shall be made

 

 

until the end of the 409A Deferral Period; provided that this sentence shall not
apply if the Executive’s employment is terminated not more than two years following
a Change in Control that also constitutes a ‘change in control event’ with respect
to the Executive as defined in Section 409A of the Code. In addition, and
regardless of whether the preceding sentence applies, no payments of other severance
that are subject to Section 409A of the Code shall be paid during the 409A Deferral
Period (and for purposes of such determination each installment of other severance
that is payable in installments shall be treated as a separate payment), and all
such payments that would otherwise have been paid during the 409A Deferral Period
shall be accumulated and paid in a lump sum on the first business day after the end
of the 409A Deferral Period. Each employment or other agreement providing for
payment of other severance is hereby deemed amended in accordance with the preceding
sentence.”

     4. Section 4(b)(vii) is amended by replacing the last sentence with the following sentence:

“If and to the extent that the benefit described in this paragraph is not or cannot
be provided under any plan, program, or arrangement of the Corporation, or without
the benefits provided thereunder being taxable to the Executive, the Corporation
shall either, at its election, procure an insurance policy on substantially similar
terms and conditions for the Executive and the Executive’s spouse or surviving
spouse and dependents, or pay Executive an additional amount of severance pay for
each month during which such coverage is in effect equal to the amount of tax that
is imposed on the value of such coverage (plus the tax imposed on such additional
severance pay), which amount shall be withheld to satisfy the tax obligation; and”

     5. Section 4(b)(viii) is amended in its entirety to read as follows:

“The Corporation shall pay for or provide the Executive with reasonable individual
out-placement assistance as offered by a member firm of the Association of
Out-Placement Consulting Firms; provided that such assistance shall be provided not
later than the end of the second year following the year in which the termination of
employment occurs and, if reimbursed by the Corporation rather than paid directly,
shall be reimbursed not later than the end of the year following the year in which
the expense is incurred.”

     6. A new sentence is added to the end of the last paragraph of Section 5 to read as follows:

“Anything else contained herein to the contrary notwithstanding, any payment to the
Executive pursuant to this Section 5 shall be paid not later than the end of the
year following the year in which the applicable tax is paid by the Executive;
provided that this sentence is included solely to satisfy the requirements of
Section 409A of the Code and shall not be construed to permit the Corporation to

2

 

make any payment later than the date on which it would otherwise have been required
to be paid.”

     7. A new sentence is added to the end of Section 10 to read as follows:

“Anything else contained herein to the contrary notwithstanding, any payment to the
Executive pursuant to this Section 10 shall be paid not later than the end of the
year following the year in which the reimbursable expense is paid by the Executive;
provided that this sentence is included solely to satisfy the requirements of
Section 409A of the Code and shall not be construed to permit the Corporation to
make any payment later than the date on which it would otherwise have been required
to be paid.”

     8. A new sentence is added to the end of Section 15 to read as follows:

“This Agreement is also intended to comply with all requirements of Section 409A of
the Code with respect to any amount payable to the Executive that constitutes
deferred compensation subject to Section 409A and, to the maximum extent permitted
by law, the terms of this Agreement shall be interpreted in such a manner that the
Executive is not subject to additions to tax imposed by Section 409A; provided that
nothing contained herein shall be construed to require the Corporation to reimburse
the Executive for any such additions to tax.”

*      *      *

     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Amendment to be executed this 29 day
of December, 2008.

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 
	 	 	BOWATER INCORPORATED	 	 
	 
	 	 	 	 	 	 
	 

	 	By
	 	/s/ Jacques P. Vachon	 	 
	 

	 	 	 	 	 	 
	 

	 	Name:
	 	Jacques P. Vachon	 	 
	 

	 	Title:
	 	Vice President and Secretary	 	 
	 
	 	 	 	 	 	 
	 	 	            /s/ Joseph B. Johnson	 	 
	 	 	 	 	 
	 	 	Name: Joseph B. Johnson	 	 

3

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