Porsche Gives Employees $10K Bonus, Then Encourages Them To Donate It

Many auto manufacturers are shutting down their facilities temporarily in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Porsche announced the closure of its German Zuffenhausen plant and its Leipzig production facility beginning on March 18th, and just two days ago, said that those same facilities would remain closed until at least April 14th. Today though, the company is extending a kind gesture to many of its out-of-work employees.

Porsche will give workers a €9,000 (approximately $9,800) bonus "for the special commitment of the Porsche workforce in the 2019 financial year," with €700 (approx. $760) of it available as a special contribution to individual employee pension plans. And that bonus is well deserved: Porsche sales in North America increased by 7.6 percent in 2019, the company moving a total of 61,568 cars.

"The success of our company is only possible through the work of our colleagues," Chairman Werner Weresch says in a statement. "All of them have worked for Porsche with great commitment in the past year. It is part of our Porsche culture that the workforce is also rewarded for this."

But with that generous bonus comes a slight hitch. As Porsche increases its overall donation volume by €5.0 million (approx. $5.4 million), to essential services like food banks and medical supply companies, the company is asking its workers to pitch in some additional good will, as well. That voluntary employee bonus comes with "an appeal for donations... to support the 'Porsche aid' program."

"Solidarity in our society is more important than ever," Oliver Blume, Chairman of the Executive Board at Porsche says. "Industry, politics and society: we will overcome the Corona crisis together. Porsche is taking on social responsibility. This is our fundamental philosophy and our understanding of sustainable action."

As a friendly reminder, Porsche rakes in more than $25.0 billion in total revenue annually. And the company has an estimated brand value of about $11 billion, according to 2018 statistics provided by Forbes.