TikTok owner ByteDance announced on September 8 that the company will pay bonuses to all eligible employees amid uncertainty around the fate of the popular short video sharing app's US business.
ByteDance said in said in an internal letter that over the past period of time all employees jointly faced the global COVID-19 pandemic, macro environmental changes and other challenges.
The bonus is for its appreciation for everyone's collective efforts to overcome these challenges during this time, said the company's founder Zhang Yiming.
The letter shows that the bonus will be paid to full-time employees with ≥26 days of workday attendance between July 1 and August 31, 2020, and the amount will be 50% of their August 2020 monthly fixed salary.
The move comes as TikTok is in the spotlight of US pressure.
ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming explains his situation in new email
On August 6, US President Donald Trump issued his first executive order against TikTok, requiring individuals and entities subject to US jurisdiction to refrain from conducting any "transactions" with ByteDance and its subsidiary TikTok until September 20 (45 days after the issuance of the order).
Then, on August 14, Trump again pressured ByteDance to sell or divest the company's TikTok business in the US within 90 days.
On August 24, TikTok formally filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration in the US, arguing for the repeal of Trump's August 6 executive order.
On August 27, TikTok Global CEO Kevin Mayer resigned.
With the full translated text of ByteDance's letter to employees:
Hello everyone.
Over the past period of time, we have collectively faced the challenges of global COVID-19 coronavirus, macroenvironmental changes, etc.
In appreciation of your joint efforts to overcome these challenges during this period, the company will be paying bonuses to all eligible colleagues as follows.
Eligibility: Full-time employees with ≥26 days of attendance on working days between July 1, 2020 and August 31, 2020.
Amount paid: 50% of the monthly fixed remuneration in August 2020 (the amount will be adjusted for some employees depending on the circumstances).
You will get the bonuses with your September 2020 salaries.
Thank you all for your input and efforts.
Let's continue to improve product experience, drive business development, and fulfill ByteDance's mission of "Inspiring Creativity, Enriching Lives" to serve our users and customers.
