'They're showing us their contempt': Bosses cut employee bonuses by 90% without warning, claim it reflects the quality of their work

Author image for JR Atkinson
JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Jan 12, 2025 4:00 PM EST

Bonuses are not an incredibly reliable way to make income. They should be like extra credit. You don't need it to survive, but it's nice when you get it. It's a way for employers to show a little extra recognition to their employees. It becomes a problem, then, when employers set up a pattern of bonuses, especially if they're significant. Employees then come to expect that money and start planning their lives around it, as well they should if it's a major part of their yearly salary. But this is where it gets dicey. Since it's a bonus, employers can revoke that money any time they feel like it, and you have no real recourse to get it back or demand an explanation. 

That's what happened in this situation when a group of workers were surprised by the small amount that hit their direct deposit. At first, they were scrambling to figure out what that money was, but when they learned the truth, many of them started looking for new jobs. 

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  • Commenters, though, had a range of explanations for why this company would pull the rug in such a way. Some saw it as yet another example of corporate greed while others saw even more nefarious motives. Read on for the story and see what you think. 

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    Cheezburger Image 10452848128
    via ArrN Capture

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

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    My husband's boss cut the entire department's annual bonuses by 80-90% without warning anybody.

    Sorry for the rant. At his job, bonuses are usually around 50% of the annual salary. Some years (before he started working here), we've heard that the bonuses have been up to 75% of your annual salary. It's a huge reason why people want to work at this company.
    via u/-peach-mango-
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    All year, his manager had people work extra shifts and (unpaid) overtime by dangling the annual bonus over everyone's heads. There's no PTO either; the "unlimited" PTO policy makes it possible for managers to deny time off & heavily discourage anyone from taking it (except for their favorites). Everyone puts up with it because of the annual bonus. It's a carrot-on-stick situation.
    via u/-peach-mango-
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    This year, the bonuses hit everyone's account without any discussion from the managers. At first, nobody knew what the payment was for since the dollar amount was only 10-20% of the annual bonus that everyone was expecting. When everyone found out, major drama ensued... but I'm not sure how many people will leave because these are generally older men who have worked here forever. At least my husband is going to polish up his resume this weekend.
    via u/-peach-mango-
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    This company has a toxic culture and a much more difficult workload than similar jobs at other companies, but it was worth it because the annual bonus made the overall compensation higher than the standard rate. Now that they cut the bonus, it's LESS overall compensation, MORE work, and almost non-existent benefits. Who would stay?
    via u/-peach-mango-
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    I can't get over the blatant disrespect. Once my husband got his manager on the phone, the manager was such an ahle about it saying things like, "I guess it just reflects your quality of work this year," and "You're lucky to work at a big company like this," blah blah blah. There was no room for negotiation, even though my
    via u/-peach-mango-
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    husband had done some great work this year and had the performance evaluations to back it up. When asked if HIS bonus was also cut, the manager made some stupid comment about how management is evaluated differently. So, obviously, his bonus is fine. Great. Good for him. Amazing.
    via u/-peach-mango-
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    We were going to do some much- needed repairs on our car and replace the wheels. Kiddo needs braces. With inflation, we've been living paycheck-to-paycheck and aren't able to put some money away for emergencies. All year we've been hearing that profits are high, the company is growing, and
    via u/-peach-mango-
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    that the annual bonus will make it all worth it. The fact that they pulled it out from under us - with NO discussion or warning - is awful. Maybe it's not just disrespect. It seems like they're showing us their contempt.
    via u/-peach-mango-
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    via Unsplash+ (Frank van Hulst)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

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    The worker sought refuge in an online community of workers who offered advice on what to do.

    Shojo_Tombo 13h ago . Well, if the company values their labor 90% less than last year, then I guess the workers are being told to put in 90% less effort. I'm serious. Look up Slowdown Strike, and get hubby to organize one with his coworkers.
    via u/Shojo_Tombo
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    mcflame13 • 13h ago When will these companies understand that you screw over your employees, your business can easily fall. Your husband should have a talk with his coworkers about them doing a week long strike to show that they are not going to get away with being greedy like that without dealing with the repurcusions.
    via u/mcflame13
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    FarmhandMe 13h ago . To bad your cousin couldn't have kidnapped the ceo on Christmas day and bring him to your house so yall could tell him off, and he'd grow a heart like the grinch. Lol
    via u/FarmhandMe
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    JoJoJoMaree • 13h ago . You mentioned that the manager has coerced people into working extra shifts and OT by dangling the bonus. carrot. Does anyone have any of that in writing? Previous bonuses set precedent, especially if they're aligned with company profits, so the
    via u/JoJoJoMaree
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    manager has essentially promised something in an exchange, and the promise was never upheld. It's a grey area, but if you've got some of these exchanges in writing, it might be worth speaking to someone that knows employment regulations, especially so if the company has been talking up how well they've been doing profit- wise.
    via u/JoJoJoMaree
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    Pixel_Knight • 11h ago This is likely a tactic intentionally designed to get people to quit so that they don't have to downsize and pay unemployment.
    via u/Pixel_Knight
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    Vi... • 12h ago Edited 12h ago • Your husband shouldnt just outright quit. He should talk to his coworkers and they should organize together and strike against management. People seem to think striking is something you can only do when theres a union or a preexisting organization that facilitates a strike. But in
    via u/VirtualRemedy
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    reality, ANY business cant be put to a grinding halt by an organized group of employees. Fight back dont roll over or run. Were all so fast to quit or leave or put up with being treated like literal trash. it so easy for more and more of this sh to happen when everyones down to just roll over.
    via u/VirtualRemedy
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    I know what im saying is easier said than done, but employees as a whole across the planet need to start standing up against this evil bs.
    via u/VirtualRemedy
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    Geminii27 . • 12h ago Edited 11h ago It's one of the reasons that I hate bonuses. If they're not part of a regular paycheck, they absolutely cannot be relied on, and any employer can just decided to... not pay them. Or you spend a year working somewhere and the company goes out of business or your job is eliminated the week
    via u/Geminii27
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    before the bonus gets paid (and this is why firings tend to take place at that time; having no bonuses means there's less of a financial incentive for employers to fire people at that one specific time). Nastier employers (usually smaller ones where your boss is also the
    via u/Geminii27
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    owner, or you have no signed employment contract) can use the threat of withholding/downgrading them, or only paying them to sycophants, to threaten and overcontrol employees. No boss- controlled bonuses = fewer threat channels.
    via u/Geminii27
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    primeline31 12h ago Edited 4h ago • When he does decide to leave, he should know that if he gives 2 weeks notice, that the day he does that will most likely be his last day there, so be prepared to go without pay for those 2 weeks unless the new employer can take him on sooner than those 2 weeks. [edit: removed an unnecessary letter.]
    via u/primeline31
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    yogamathappiness • 12h ago The greed is surreal this past year. We need to make 2025 the year we tell these greedy jerkwads where to stuff it. This has got to be the third or fourth vent I've seen about their company or partner's company that usually gives great bonuses not giving a bonus or giving one so small it's insulting. This HAS to be stopped.
    via u/yogamathappiness
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    Gavvvo15 • 8h ago Very similar thing happened to me this year. I work construction and for 4 months during the summer we did a job 2 hours from home and had to hotel it all week and drive home on weekends. I have 2 kids, I gave up a lot for that job. We were told that we were getting a substantial amount added to our Christmas bonus this year to compensate as a thank you.
    via u/Gavvvo15
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    Our Christmas bonus was about 1/8 of what I was expecting. But I did get 2 company sweaters and a yeti tumbler engraved with the company name, allegedly makes up for some of the money I 'think is missing' I've been applying for a new job if you can believe it
    via u/Gavvvo15
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    HMS_Slartibartfast 13h ago . Please talk to your husband. He needs to find a new employer. He also needs to work out a nice "I quit" letter the details how the company's performance and support is sub-par and he is terminating their employment of him effective immediately." Yes, he need to FIRE his employer, preferably publicly. This is once he has a new job.
    via u/HMS_Slartibartfast

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boss antiwork workplace-stories wage theft bonus toxic-workplace job bosses work coworkers working wages reddit story toxic-boss workplace reddit thread bad bosses Reddit toxic-work-environment
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