Tyson Foods announces year-end bonuses for hourly employees

Tyson Foods will pay its 90,000 U.S. hourly employees a one-time, year-end bonus between $300 and $700.

• The company estimates it will spend about $50 million on the extra pay.

• The amount each employee receives is based on their tenure, a spokesperson told Axios via email.

State of play: The federal minimum wage is $7.25, but Tyson claims its average hourly rate nationwide is about $19 before including health insurance and other benefits.

Flashback: Tyson announced the same bonus structure on the same day last year.

• In March 2020 — at the very beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic — the company said it would pay eligible hourly workers $500 each that July.
• That round of bonuses involved about 115,000 employees and reportedly cost $60 million.

Disclosure: Reporter Worth Sparkman formerly worked at Tyson Foods.