Tax reform legislation signed into law by President Trump prior to the holidays will result in a late Christmas present for Southwest Airlines employees.
Southwest’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gary Kelly announced on Twitter Tuesday evening that every person who started working for Southwest Airlines prior to Dec. 31, 2017, will soon receive a $1,000 cash bonus on Jan. 8, 2018.
“We applaud Congress and the president for taking this action to pass legislation, which will result in meaningful corporate income tax reform for the transportation sector in general, and for Southwest Airlines, in particular,” Mr. Kelly said in a short video shared on Twitter. “We are excited about the savings and additional capital, which we intend to put to work in several forms — to reward our hard-working employees, to reinvest in our business, to reward our shareholders, and to keep our costs and fares low for our customers.”
I’m proud to report we are rewarding our Employees with a $1,000 bonus with the anticipated savings from the tax reform legislation, we are contributing an additional $5 million in charitable donations, and we are making investments in our fleet and our business. pic.twitter.com/h4GVqRrXzX
— Gary Kelly (@gary_kelly) January 2, 2018
#SouthwestAirlines began trending on the social media platform soon after the announcement.
“I am also proud to report that we have donated an incremental $5 million to charitable causes as a result of tax reform,” Mr. Kelly added. “Throughout 2018, we will work with our charitable partnerships to put this money to work in the communities we serve and where our employees work and live.”
SEE ALSO: AT&T announces $1,000 bonuses to 200,000 U.S. employees following passage of tax reform
A CBS affiliate in Dallas noted that Southwest would also grow its fleet investment with business partner Boeing due to the legislation.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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