Well, Merc,
that stinks.
I don't see why any corporation would 'tease' it's employees that way as it simply makes for hostility and resentment, at the least. It's stupid.
Perhaps FedEx had 'good intentions' regarding bonuses but earnings and profits didn't meet expectations, the stock price was down and they couldn't 'justify' a company-wide bonus, which would cost far more than a retiring CEO's Bentley, portrait and stock options, which are only valuable if the company prospers. That is never guaranteed.
That top executives in most corporations make far more than ordinary workers is nothing new. Frankly, it's a matter of choices. If you want to go to a top college such as Wharton School of Business or Yale, do the hard work necessary to earn an MBA then work your way up the corporate ladder, including working long hours and thinking about the company instead of yourself most of the time, you too can have a shot at becoming a CEO (or close to it) by the time you're 45 or 50, and make the big bucks while taking the big responsibility that goes with it.
I don't care to do that and so, I can't get annoyed when the guy who runs the company I work for gets a huge salary, stock options and so on. He made his choices and I made mine. I hope he's happy. I know I am.
Still, promising a bonus to workers and then to renege on that promise is totally lame. Sorry for your bad experience at FedEX.