Good Bye Christmas Bonus..FedEx Grinch

[Mercury]

Well, several months ago there started a buzz around Fed Ex. There would be a Christmas bonus given to managers after the Holiday season was over.

Yeah, sure, what ever. I have never believed those hyped up rumors. They started about the same time every year, and most people seemed to believe that "This was the Year". Months go by, Christmas would be right around the corner, with no mention of such a bonus.

Well that was for a very good reason...because there never was one.

This Year was diffrent. It started with a confrence call we had with the regional manager. There was a guest speaker, the CEO. During this call he mentions a Christmas bonus this year! Wow, you cant get much more direct than a statement from the CEO. Apparently this would be the year that the rumors would not be Rumors.

Throughout the Holiday season, we got memo's, news letters and such about the Bonus, and how much we should each expect.

It depended upon your terminals "Grade", which reflected the buildings performance during peak.

After the Holiday season, we got our grade....An A+. Awesome! They sent us a memo saying how much they would be about. It was enough for me to payoff my credit card and all the christmas expenses. WOW.

Well, THE WEEK WE ARE SUPPOSED TO GET THE BONUS ARRIVES. Anticipation fill the air. The day comes, and we get an e-mail.... An e-mail..

An E-mail that says "Were sorry, but due to blah blah blah...there will be no bonus's given." Then they had the GUL to say "Keep working hard for us, and keep the PURPLE PROMISE Alive!" No One in the company got a bonus....But they managed to give the Ceo that retired a Freakin Car (Bently), a portrait of himself and like Mega Stock options.

Wow...Amazing. If I could shot a stream of Piss from here to Pittsburg (Corprate Office...and also my home town) I Would of urinated all over those jerks.

That is so Wrong. How do Company's get away with such crap.

Argh..anyway, just had to vent. I'm a little ticked to say the least.

[Mach 1]

Lol....a bonus...yeah, right. Take a tip from me, dont ever count on any bonus or believe it until its in your hand!

Fed-ex certainly isnt the only company where the CEO's earn millions while the average joes dont get crap, except maybe laid off or a cut in pay. See all the major Airlines for examples.

[DeltaMustang65]

They've got some balls asking everyone to keep working hard, and keep the "promise" alive. Yeah, what happened to THEIR promises, I wonder.

I feel for ya, I've got some real assclowns and hypocrites at the hospital I work at (yeah, hospitals are evil too), but I won't get into that.

[Mr 5 0]

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.

[1965GTO]

I drive for Yellow trucking and will be happy if I have a job for another five years. They are suppose to be turning the Mexican trucks loose into the US and already we have Canadian trucks all over. Plus we have some more immigrants being brought over from Africa and Iraq that they will love to get into the rolling sweat shops. They will drive for those types of trucking companies, until they realize how they are getting used.

Originally Posted by 1965GTO

I drive for Yellow trucking and will be happy if I have a job for another five years. They are suppose to be turning the Mexican trucks loose into the US and already we have Canadian trucks all over. Plus we have some more immigrants being brought over from Africa and Iraq that they will love to get into the rolling sweat shops. They will drive for those types of trucking companies, until they realize how they are getting used.

I drive for Arnold Bros. Transport and we got lots of American trucks up here all the time too, i get to chat with them all the time. up here there is a shortage of drivers here and anybody with a couple bucks gets driving with those junky companies with junky equipment and trying to make run all day and night. been several major accidents up in the mountains cause of all the young inexperienced hotdog/super truckers just given'er when they should be calming down.

[Mercury]

While it is certainly nothing new to me that CEO's and corprates make a hell of alot more than the lowers, it does seem to be unbalanced.

I totally agree with you Mr 5.0, if I had the money and the BUSSINESS sense to start a bussiness, I would. I already pour my life into this place. The only time I see anyone other than co-workers is during the weekend, and even sometimes then, its work on the weekends. I'll stop bitching, I know there are people who have it worse, and that I have alot to be thankful for.

I really dont agree with the way they informed us of the Bonus Cut, they demonstrated no class;well at least for a company that is supposed to be as prestiegious as Fed Ex. They should practice what they preach.

PURPLE PROMISE!

[Mr 5 0]

Originally Posted by Mercury

While it is certainly nothing new to me that CEO's and corprates make a hell of a lot more than the lowers, it does seem to be unbalanced.

That's a popular outlook - but it's based on a fallacy. Workers are paid by what they contribute to the company's bottom line. Top execs are responsible for negotiating contracts that can make millions for the company - or cost it millions if they screw it up. Such executives don't 'grow on trees'. You can't just read a book and learn this stuff. If you could, we would all be corporate executives, making six-and-seven-figure salaries, with bonuses, etc. That is clearly not the case. It usually takes years to climb to the position of a CEO, CFO or similar post. You need to have a proven record of past intelligent decisions that generated profits for the company, or, at least, saved the company significent money and/or enhanced it's market position.

I totally agree with you Mr 5.0, if I had the money and the BUSSINESS sense to start a bussiness, I would. I already pour my life into this place. The only time I see anyone other than co-workers is during the weekend, and even sometimes then, its work on the weekends. I'll stop bitching, I know there are people who have it worse, and that I have al ot to be thankful for.

I'm sure you do. So do I. That we may work hard in a job that could just as well be done by others is a fact of life in the labor field. There really is no job security any more but doing a job well never hurts and is a given, if you value your integrity, as I'm sure you do. Of course, you, I or anyone else can always seek a better job, invest in a business or simply try to move up in the company they work for by not only doing their job well but looking for and identifying ways of improving the company and it's bottom line and making sure your superiors know that you're doing this.

I really dont agree with the way they informed us of the Bonus Cut, they demonstrated no class; well at least for a company that is supposed to be as prestiegious as Fed Ex. They should practice what they preach.

PURPLE PROMISE!

I totally agree. FedX screwed over their employees in this instance and did so in a clumsy, classless manner that assures hostility and hard feelings. Some 'promise'. "We'll never give you a bonus but we'll pretend that we will, so we can really piss you off". As I said: stupid. You have my sympathy - for whatever good it may do you.