When Lesia Key was summoned to meet her boss, Graham Walker, near the factory where they worked, she had no idea why. At an outside table, Walker thanked Key for her 29 years of service. Then, he handed her a sealed, blue-and-white envelope. She opened it and broke down crying. Walker had given the 51-year-old a life-altering sum of money, and he was going to do the same for his 539 other full-time employees. Walker and his family started a company called Fibrebond, which makes enclosures for electrical equipment. Earlier this year, Walker agreed to sell the business to Eaton, a power-management company, for $1.7 billion. Walker wanted to reward his employees, grateful that so many had stuck with his company through tough times, so he included a condition in the terms of the transaction: 15% of the sale proceeds would go to his employees. His 540 full-time employees received $240 million in bonuses, with the average being $443,000 to be paid over five years, as long as the employees remained at the company for those five years. Long-timers received much more. On the day the money was distributed, staffers stared at their bonus letters in disbelief. A few thought it was a joke, while others became emotional. Since then, they’ve used the cash to eliminate their debt, buy cars, pay college tuition, and fund retirement accounts. One employee took his entire extended family to Cancun. Lesia Key, who started at Fibrebond in 1995 making $5.35 an hour, used her bonus to pay off her mortgage and fulfill a lifelong dream — to open a clothing boutique. As for Walker, he’s leaving the company on December 31. He says he’s enjoyed watching the reactions of his team, and there’s one thing that he asked of them — to let him know how the money has changed their lives.
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| Lesia Key's new boutique |
