American and Southwest Announce Bonuses for Employees

Executives from American and Southwest Airlines revealed Tuesday that each company will offer employees bonuses of $1,000 in response to the recent tax law changes.

Officials from American said the bonuses would cost the airline $130 million.

According to The Associated Press, Southwest CEO Gary Kelly said that in addition to the airline offering its workers bonuses, the company will also donate an extra $5 million to charities in 2018.

The anticipated savings from the recent tax reform legislation has resulted in Southwest exercising options to buy more new commercial airplanes from Boeing. In the same vein, American plans on investing in more aircraft and company facilities.

I'm proud to report we are rewarding our Employees with a $1,000 bonus with the anticipated savings from the tax reform legislation, we are contributing an additional $5 million in charitable donations, and we are making investments in our fleet and our business. pic.twitter.com/h4GVqRrXzX

- Gary Kelly (@gary_kelly) January 2, 2018

Southwest announced it will begin making the bonus payments to its employees next Monday, while American revealed workers at the main airline and its regional affiliates would get their extra money at some point in the first quarter.

Other major companies in the United States which have announced plans to offer similar bonuses to their employees include AT&T, Boeing, Comcast and Wells Fargo.

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