The $2.8 billion company has also been without a permanent chief executive officer since November, making it more vulnerable to a takeover.

Kathleen Sebelius is gone.

The deal struck last week is a sign of progress in negotiations to exit bankruptcy and would shift 26 percent of $388 million in claimed liabilities to pensions and to overdue payments on debt.

A report by the Government Accountability Office found that while the most severely distressed multiemployer plans have taken steps to address their funding problems, some did not.