When a company is sold, employees often worry about their futures. But when food ordering company Yemeksepeti was sold, the firm’s CEO, Nevzat Aydin, gave them something they weren’t expecting: bonuses.
The company was sold to German food giant Delivery Hero for $589 million back in May, and Aydin decided to spread some of the wealth — $27 million, to be exact — among his 114 employees.
“We did this because if there is a success, we have accomplished it altogether,” he told Turkish newspaper Hurriyet.
Each employee will receive, on average, $237,000. Monthly wages for Yemeksepeti employees generally range between $1,000 and $2,000.
The employee reaction to the announcement was visceral.
“Some employees cried, some screamed, some wrote letters of thanks,” Aydin said to Hurriyet. “You affect the lives of the people. [They] can buy homes, cars. They can immediately do something otherwise they could not [their] monthly wages.”
And even after his incredible gesture, Aydin was left with one regret.
“I wish we could have given them more.”