H-E-B to pay $500 ‘thank you’ bonus to all employees

Texas grocer H-E-B plans to pay its 120,000-plus employees a $500 bonus as a “thank you” for their extra efforts during the coronavirus crisis.

The San Antonio-based supermarket chain said all full-time and part-time hourly and salaried staff employed before Oct. 23 will receive the award via direct deposit. Those eligible for the payment include workers in stores, manufacturing, warehousing, transportation and administration, as well as employees of H-E-B’s Central Market, Mi Tienda and Joe V’s locations and the company’s Favor on-demand delivery subsidiary.

“Our success starts with our people. In the face of many challenges this year, our partners have confronted each obstacle with grace, compassion, strength and resilience,” H-E-B President Craig Boyan said in a statement. “Our partners continue to raise the bar in pursuit of excellence, uplifting and inspiring people across our great state and beyond. As we look toward the holiday season and to 2021, it’s with immense pride and great excitement, we celebrate our partners and their families for the passion and heart they exhibit every day to Texans across our great state.”

The bonus comes after H-E-B in late June announced what it called the largest pay investment in its history, which included making recent pay raises permanent.

Related:H-E-B to give permanent pay increases as temporary COVID-19 bonus pay ends

The bonus comes in the wake of what H-E-B called the largest pay investment in its history. In June, the company unveiled plans to shift from temporary $2 hourly pay raises — initiated in response to the COVID-19 pandemic — to long-term permanent investments in its associates. The short-term wage hikes, dubbed the Texas Proud Pay program, ended June 21, and then on June 22 the retailer began transitioning into long-term investments including accelerated and enhanced pay increases for store, manufacturing and supply chain hourly non-management employees.

At the time, H-E-B didn’t specify the total amount of the pay investment but said the increases would be more than twice the amount of the temporary program for the average employee.

In March, when COVID-19 was declared a national emergency, H-E-B lifted wages by $2 for all hourly store, manufacturing, warehousing and transportation employees. The program was extended in April and May before ending on June 21.

H-E-B noted that its total pay investment has approximately doubled since 2014. Overall, the retailer operates more than 350 stores across Texas.

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