Special times call for special measures. German oil and additive specialist LIQUI MOLY is not reacting to the corona crisis with short-time work or layoffs, but is instead paying a bonus of EUR 1,000 to each employee. With this ‘corona consolation,’ Managing Director Ernst Prost is thanking all employees for their dedication.
LIQUI MOLY now has almost its entire administration working from home. This move is intended to protect every single employee while keeping production running. The staff accomplished this collective move to home office mode with great commitment and improvisation.
“Today, we have largely been able to ensure in all corporate areas that we are mastering this balancing act between preventive health care and continued work,” Ernst Prost wrote to the workforce. “Now, I can imagine that the current circumstances are not only time-consuming for you, but also involve additional financial expenditure. As a token of our appreciation, allow me to give you an extra EUR 1000 gross with your next salary payment – to a certain extent, as a financial corona consolation!”
While other companies are having to deal with short-time work or are considering making cuts, the LIQUI MOLY boss is setting a counterpoint. “The current developments are not leaving us unaffected either; the economic consequences will be brutal. That is precisely why we must now do our part to solve this crisis with our brains and wits, with commitment and diligence, and definitely with courage and confidence.”
All employees worldwide are receiving the same amount for this bonus – the department manager in Germany as well as the warehouse clerk in South Africa. “In most parts of the world, the economic consequences are more severe, because the social network there is less robust or completely absent,” said Prost. With his gesture, he wishes to set an example for the LIQUI MOLY family worldwide and also make money available that people may need urgently. “Besides, spending money on the economy is exactly what we need right now to keep jobs.”
Prost said he is pleased about the team spirit within the company: “It is very gratifying to see how we come closer together in such a situation, do our work unwaveringly and pull together in solidarity.”
