Washington DC: TikTok’s Chinese owners ByteDance Ltd has declared a rare half-month salary bonus for its employees in a bid to calm nerves of a 60,000-plus anxious workforce across the globe.
The Donald Trump government has set a September-end deadline for negotiations on the sale of the video-sharing social network service’s US operations.
ByteDance will dole out the bonus this month to impress employees at a time of unprecedented economic and social upheaval, the company said in an internal memo on Wednesday.
According to Bloomberg News report, while the Beijing-based startup is known for paying lavishly to poach experts in critical fields such as artificial intelligence, it’s unusual for the firm to declare a handout in the middle of the year.
“Over the past few months, we have been working together to overcome challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and changing macro environment,” ByteDance said in its memo.
“To thank everyone for their efforts and dedication, we will be issuing a cash bonus to all eligible employees,” it said. The additional payout will be made, together with September’s salary, to any full-timer who has worked at least 26 days between July 1 and August 31.