Sometimes work is its own reward. Other times, the reward is when your boss gives you a $200,000-plus bonus, as one CEO did for his workers.
Nevzat Aydin is the co-founder and CEO of Yemeksepeti, a Turkish food delivery company that he started with three others 15 years ago. After selling the business for $589 million to Germany-based Delivery Hero in May, he, like all good CEOs, decided to share the wealth.
Aydin divided $27 million from the sale among 114 of his employees. The average amount works out to an eye-popping $237,000 per person. Generally, employees at the company earn $1,000 to $2,000 a month, according to CNN Money.
Aydin said the move was meant to recognize and thank the hard work of his staff. “Yemeksepeti's success story did not happen overnight and many people participated in this journey with their hard work and talent,” he told CNN Money. “I believe in teamwork and I believe success is much more enjoyable and glorious when shared with the rest of the team.”
In deciding how to allocate the bonuses, Aydin factored in how long they’d worked for the company (requiring two years, minimum) along with the individual’s job performance and their “future potential in the company.” Yemeksepeti has a total of 370 employees.
Though the financial windfalls had been decided before the sale occurred, a spokesman for Delivery Hero said the German company approved of the idea, telling CNN Money, “The success of companies like Delivery Hero and Yemeksepeti is based on amazing company cultures where tremendous people always walk the extra mile."
One employee who’d worked for Aydin for a decade called the gift “life changing.”
Aydin will continue to serve as CEO of Yemeksepeti, and will also join the executive board of Delivery Hero.
