Haworth Inc. plans to give away $5 million in bonuses to employees next month.
Matt Haworth, chairman of the family-owned company, announced to staff on Wednesday, Jan. 24, that full time employees would receive one-time bonuses of $1,000, and part-timers would collect $500.
In recent weeks, scores of corporations have announced $1,000 bonuses for employees following passage of tax reform legislation, which lowered the corporate tax rate.
This isn't Holland furniture maker's main reason for the bonus.
"The bottom line is this is a thank you to our members in recognition of our 70th anniversary," said Haworth, whose grandfather G.W. Haworth started the business in the garage of his Holland home in 1948.
More than 4,500 employees who work for Haworth-branded companies around the globe will collect the rare bonus.
The bonus costs Haworth more in some countries where the company is required to pay accompanying fees, said Julie Smith, Haworth spokeswoman.
Matt Haworth says the company is able to make the $5 million investment because of several factors including strong 2017 revenues which will be announced next month and an improved business climate state and nationally. The latter he attributes to a rollback of regulations and taxes, which lower company's operational costs.
The last time Matt Haworth can remember a thank you bonus was in the mid-1990s after the company won a $211 million patent-infringement case against competitor and industry giant, Steelcase Inc.