Less than a week after Israeli company SodaStream was bought by Pepsico for $3.2 billion, SodaStream CEO Daniel Birnbaum announced on Sunday that all company employees will receive a bonus of NIS 18,000 ($5,000) each.
The company employs 3,500 people, 2,000 of them in the Negev factory and 200 more in the center of Israel, with the rest stationed abroad in countries including Germany, the Netherlands and the United States.
Birnbaum, who has headed the company since it was purchased for $6 million in 2007, said any employee who has been with the company for at least one year will receive the special bonus.
"Dear Streamers, what a special and emotional week we've had," Birnbaum wrote in a message to employees.
"We've received so much love and esteem from the whole world, but it was especially touching to experience the pride of our people here [at SodaStream] and the national pride in this blue-and-white Israeli success.
"I always say, 'Everything starts and ends with people.' And here at SodaStream we've proved this is true. We have the best people in the world – SodaStream family.
"To celebrate this exciting benchmark and as a token of recognition and appreciation for your contribution to SodaStream's success, we agreed with PepsiCo on a special bonus of NIS 18,000 for every employee with at least one year of seniority. Employees who have been with us for less than a year will receive a bonus relative to their service. This bonus is expected to be paid when the deal is finalized in December. I very much hope you're all as proud as I am to be Streamers, today particularly, and are excited for our future together with PepsiCo.
"We are continuing full steam ahead on our journey to make the world a better place. It's going to be a lot of fun. This is just the beginning!" he concluded.
Birnbaum himself stands to earn as much as $61 million from the acquisition when completed.
