Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. said it would award a one-time
bonus of 5% of 2017 salary to its workforce, excluding corporate officers.
The award will come in the form of Royal Caribbean stock and
will vest over three years.
RCCL achieved a goal in 2017 of double-digit return on
invested capital and doubling its earnings per share since 2014. The bonus is a
recognition of employee contributions toward the goal.
The bonus will cost about $80 million. By comparison, RCCL’s
annual dividend payout to stockholders is about $513 million.
In all, about 66,000 employees are eligible for the bonus,
including shipboard and shoreside, full-time and part-time, and domestic and
overseas workers.
In addition to the 5% percent equity awards, RCCL said it
will contribute to the Crew Welfare Fund for upgrades to crew living and
recreational areas.
"Ours is a people business,” company chairman Richard
Fain said." We want to thank every one of our people for the hard work
that got us to today's announcement, and give them a stake in our success going
forward."