Microsoft is gifting its workers a $1,500 pandemic bonus. In an inner memo seen by The Verge, the software program large says this one-time bonus “is in recognition of the unique and challenging fiscal year that Microsoft just completed.”

Microsoft’s chief folks officer, Kathleen Hogan, introduced the reward to workers at the moment, and it’ll apply to all eligible workers in each the US and internationally. Microsoft is gifting this bonus to all workers beneath company vice chairman stage that began on or earlier than March thirty first, 2021, together with part-time staff and people on hourly charges.

Microsoft has 175,508 workers worldwide, however LinkedIn, GitHub, and ZeniMax workers should not eligible for the bonus, regardless of Microsoft proudly owning these three separate corporations. As a outcome, we perceive it’s a present of round $200 million, or lower than two days’ value of revenue for Microsoft.

It follows related worker presents from huge corporations over the previous 12 months, together with Facebook gifting its 45,000 workers $1,000 every, Amazon’s $300 vacation bonus for frontline workers, and BT gifting its 60,000 workers £1,500 each (roughly $2,000). Vox Media, proprietor of The Verge, additionally gifted workers a $1,000 bonus late final 12 months.

Microsoft says it has also donated “more than $98 million of assistance to nonprofits in Washington state” because the COVID-19 pandemic started, with plans to commit an extra $60 million in help by July. Since the pandemic began, Microsoft has generated at the least $160 billion in income, because of a mixture of companies flocking to cloud providers, a lift in laptop computer gross sales and Windows utilization, and powerful Xbox progress.