If You Think Your Christmas Bonu$ Sucked...It Probably Did!

Houston TX based Hilcorp Energy has given every one of it's 1381 employees a bonus of $100,000. Yes, that 6 figure number is correct!
There are 5 zeros after the #1.

Fortune.com

They have made the Fortune's "best 100 companies to work for" list three years in a row.

Billionaire CEO Jeff Hildebrand states:

A “we are all in this together” culture, installed by Jeff Hildebrand when he founded this oil and gas company in 1989, manifests itself in open book management, rich bonuses averaging 33% of pay and outrageous rewards for meeting certain goals. In 2011 every employee received a voucher for $50,000 to buy a new car, or $35,000 cash (prorated based on hire date).

The company I work for gives $25' for every year of service and if you've been employed under a year, you get a $15 WalMart card...
I'm NOT ungrateful but, it certainly makes one wonder if they should consider relocating and changing professions!

I KNOW! I KNOW! It is an evil oil and gas company but, STILL!!!!!

Oh, and Merry Christmas!

I'm curious what an employee DOES expect theses days.

Our small company usually gives 250.00 per employee. What say you AT$ ???

a reply to: TNMockingbird

Hi TNMockingbird!

My partner works on a construction crew. They made the owner/boss a ton of money this past year.
Now my partner is laid off as usual, right before Christmas.
His Christmas bonus was a $100 card for the liquor store. We don't drink.

Trying to 'practice gratitude' lol, and decided to buy a few bottles as gifts (as we sit patiently waiting for his unemployment $ to kick in).

Merry Christmas indeed!

jacygirl

a reply to: ReadLeader

I'm NOT sure!
Years ago, I worked for a large company in Florida. They were financially sound and were part of the Seagram's/Universal Studios giant. Anyway, we got $1000. After taxes, I believe it worked out to around $800.
The funny thing is, we also got an envelope with a turkey voucher. It made me laugh!
Here's enough money to buy 40 turkeys AND a voucher!

We gave the voucher away, of course! In those days, we didn't eat much!

a reply to: jacygirl

Hi Jacy!
Good to see you around!

Sorry for the layoff, I know the struggle is real!

A voucher for a liquor store is odd to me. I suppose it's better than nothing but, you would think he could've given a voucher for a FOOD store!?

I hope you are okay until the $ kicks in...
Merry Christmas to you and yours as well!

My company is awesome. Below is what they gave out to us for Christmas:

we didn't get one this year because the owner said the oil field was too slow and he didn't make enough money. but he had enough to go on a $4000 dollar per deer hunting trip, build an addition to his house so none of his kids needed to share a bedroom, and go on a 2 wwek holiday in mexico at one of the best resort.

a reply to: Daavin

Shakes head....


Just wow.

a reply to: TNMockingbird

Aww thanks! Nice to see you too!

The owner and his family (2 sons in the crew) are all big drinkers...as are most of the guys on the crew.

People think everyone's life is like theirs. I drink, so you must drink also.
The father/boss and sons also stay on salary all winter, while the other guys get unemployment (pitiful amount).

We ran into the boss & his wife last January...a particularly rough time for us financially. They told us they were going on vacation soon, and asked why WE didn't just go away.

I had to bite my tongue...that WE don't own a construction company...and WE are scratching to survive the winter on unemployment and my small disability....
So I just smiled at them and said, "There's no place like home."

And yeah...a grocery store card would have been great!
jacy

a reply to: TNMockingbird

Nice !!!! I never understood why they take out taxes. It's not really "Bonu$" (to me anyway) if taxes have to be paid.

Still nicely played.

a reply to: SgtHamsandwich

Us too.

I have been with the same physical people for 20 years, and ownership has changed hands several times.

When I was first hired in, it was a large multi-state family owned company. Everybody (newbies and temp workers included) got several hundred dollars in cash, not taxed. Those evil capitalists!

The feds apparently cracked down on that nonsense, as for a few years thereafter, we got extra income in the pay before Christmas (and the government took their cut).

Apparently there was also something wrong with that picture, as for the following few years, we got physical gifts... luxury type items... fancy fruit and gift baskets. pastries, hams from the luxury ham store, lol.

Then we were bought by a large corporation. Then for a couple of years we got the fancy physical gifts and a gross up for the value of the gifts in our paychecks to cover the taxes on the value.

Then we were taken private by a private equity firm.

Since then.... bupkis.

Hilcorp is a fracking company. They were blamed for a string of earthquakes in Utica region of Ohio last year.

www.wsj.com...

This is just another venture capitalist fossil fuel company, exploiting resources at the expense of our environment.

It seems typical of Americans to see nothing but the money here, disregarding whether it was ill gotten, or the real effects that making such monies have on the world at large.

a reply to: Daavin

I can't imagine not giving out any bonus at all. That's horrendous.

My Christmas bonus this year will be negative thousands and thousands of dollars.

Oh, the joys of owning a small business.

Think my employees will get me a gift? Most likely not. I might get the rare 'thank you' from a few of them and a card from one or two. I give out nice sized bonuses too, maybe not 100k, but much better than what most people here are saying they get.

If you work for a small business and get a bonus, make sure to thank the owner and get them a card. It goes a long ways.

Ghost

Christmas bonus what's that? , every company I have worked for has been owned by a Scrooge.

I have worked for 4 companies over the past 13 years and never once have I or other staff recived a bonus of any kind

I guess just having a job these day's is a bonus in it's self

Well if my Christmas bonus sux this year I'll be taking up with the boss! Oh wait that's me... yep same bonus as always diddly squat. Boy I hate that guy!

originally posted by: ReadLeader
I'm curious what an employee DOES expect theses days.

Our small company usually gives 250.00 per employee. What say you AT$ ???

Yes, 250.00 is what my LLC gives our full time employees and 100.00 to temps.
We also up the sales commission during the Xmas holidays.

I got a pretty good one but it certainly was not $100,000. Good for them.

I don't get one and neither does Teikiatsu. I never get a bonus as I am part-time, but he gets one.

His just comes in the spring and it is usually pretty generous. His is computed based both off company profits and merit percentage based off personal performance. There are also incentives to keep your training and compliance in.

a reply to: Daavin

If the patch ever starts to boom again, you need a new boss.

My husband hasn't got his bonus yet this year, but it's usually between $500 and $1000, along with $500 in prepaid gas cards.
Not so sure about next year, companies here in Alberta related in any way to oil or gas are expecting a really bad year coming up.

a reply to: ghostrager

We alway chip in 50 each to get the owner something nice. Every other year we had a party at a nice venue, this year it was pot luck in the shop. I know with oil down it was a hard year I've been struggling on less than half pay since July. It just seems like a slap when he cries poor then does stuff like that and talk about it at work