Southwest is giving its employees 6 weeks of extra pay

Southwest had a particularly rough 2019, but it still managed to turn a profit. As part of an annual tradition, Southwest is sharing that profit with employees. The airline announced Thursday it's giving 60,000 employees a $667m profit-sharing bonus. That means some eligible employees will soon receive 12.2% of their annual salary, which is the equivalent of roughly an additional six weeks of pay. Other employees will get the contribution added to their retirement accounts. "Our employees delivered outstanding results despite a challenging year, and it's a pleasure to reward our people for all they contribute to our continued success," said Southwest CEO Gary Kelly. Southwest's profit fell 6.7% last year, hampered by the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max and several federal investigations. But it's not taking that out on its employees. Roughly $125m of the bonus comes from compensation Boeing gave the airline. The two companies reached a confidential agreement in December for the grounding. Southwest has 34 Max planes in its fleet, the most of any airline in the world.<br/>