Honda gave employees the option to pay back a portion of the bonus within nine days.
Receiving a bonus at work is a wonderful feeling that is expected to significantly improve employees' quality of life. With current inflation levels and an uncertain economy, the impact is likely to be greater, but Honda is in a bind after overpaying bonuses to several employees.
The Japanese carmaker recently sent a memo to employees at its Marysville, Ohio, factory informing them that the company had overpaid the bonus amount and asked them to give it back, according to a report in NBC4. It further said that if employees do not respond, the money will be deducted from their pay automatically, the report further said.
NBC4 reached out to Honda and the company confirmed that it asked employees to repay some of their bonuses and claimed that it was legally justified, but it refused to disclose how much the bonuses were and how much it asked employees to repay.
"Earlier this month Honda provided bonus payments to its associates, some of whom received overpayments. Issues related to compensation are a sensitive matter and we are working quickly on this item to minimise any potential impact to our associates. Since this is a personnel issue, we have no further information to provide related to this matter," the company told the outlet in a statement.
The wife of one employee reportedly said her husband was asked to return almost 10% of the bonus. Speaking to NBC4 on condition of anonymity, she said that the return amount was significant. "That's, you know, a car payment. That's half of our mortgage…That's two, three weeks' worth of groceries. That's a lot of money for us."
The revenues of Honda Motors fall by more than 4% and profits fall by nearly a quarter last year.