Bank of America is paying a one-off $750 pandemic bonus to some staff earning less than $100,000. Those earning more get a stock award instead.
- Eligible Bank of America staff earning $100,000 or less a year will get a $750 pandemic bonus.
- Those earning more will get a stock award.
- The lender spent around $300 million providing child and adult care to its employees in 2020.
Bank of America is rewarding staff for their work during the pandemic with a one-off $750 bonus.
Eligible staff at the second-biggest US lender who earn $100,000 or less annually will get the bonus. Employees earning more than that that will get a grant of between 150 to 750 restricted stock units, per a staff memo viewed by Insider.
Bank of America didn't confirm what the eligibility criteria was, but noted that 97% of its global workforce would be getting either the bonus or the stock award.
Bloomberg first reported on the news.
"Our company and teammates were called upon to address unprecedented challenges," CEO Brian Moynihan wrote in the memo. "This move is the next step our company is taking to significantly invest in health, safety, benefits, and other resources to support you during this global health and humanitarian crisis."
In fourth-quarter results posted on Tuesday, Bank of America beat analyst expectations, but its revenue was hit by historically low interest rates that affected its consumer banking business. It posted a drop in net income of 28% for the quarter, and 35% for the year.
The bank has dished out other benefits to staff during the pandemic, 85% of whom have transitioned to working from home.
It spent about $300 million on 3 million days of child and adult care to its employees in 2020, and a further $600 million on other COVID-related measures including personal protective equipment, overtime pay, free coronavirus testing, meals, and transportation.
Dozens of other major companies have offered staff bonuses or increased wages for working during the pandemic, including Walmart, Lowe's, Target, CVS Health, McDonald's, Trader Joe's, Costco, and Domino's Pizza.
Amazon has come under fire for providing a $2 pandemic pay bump to warehouse workers, which lasted less than three months.
Some top business leaders, meanwhile, temporarily forfeited their paychecks amid the pandemic, including the cofounders of Lyft, executives at Airbnb, and the CEO of Marriott. Disney's Executive Chairman Bob Iger gave up his salary for 2020, while the top five Comcast executives donated theirs to charity.
In the public sector, the Dutch government is giving civil servants $2 extra day to cover coffee and toilet paper while working from home.