Ryder Awarding $30 Million In Bonuses To Front-line Workers

Ryder Systems, Inc. R is spending about $30 million in December to give one-time bonuses to its front-line workers.

The company announced Wednesday that about 30,000 of its workers will receive the bonus. Eligible full-time employees will receive $1,000 while part-time workers will get $500, the company said. About 98% of the workers to be paid bonuses are full time, according to a Ryder spokeswoman.

Ryder Chairman and CEO Robert Sanchez said in a prepared statement that the bonuses would be paid "as an expression of gratitude to Ryder's drivers, technicians, service employees, rental counter agents, dispatchers and warehouse employees who have been the backbone of Ryder's response to the pandemic."

A spokeswoman for Ryder said this is the first pandemic-related bonus the company has paid out. 

Those 30,000 workers make up about 75% of the company's total workforce. These employees are otherwise not eligible for incentives, she added.

Ryder employees who are unionized will receive the payout. Companies paying one-time bonuses sometimes exclude unionized workers because such a payment is not covered by the company's collective bargaining agreement with the union. 

Ryder had non-GAAP earnings of $63.8 million in the third quarter. On Wednesday, it reached a 52-week high of $59.53 per share, up about 13.75% in the past year.

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