Southwest Airlines has announced it will share $667 million with its Employees through its ProfitSharing Plan for 2019, which includes a discretionary, incremental profit sharing award for compensation from The Boeing Company related to the 2019 financial impact of the MAX groundings. This $667 million profitsharing award is equivalent to $1.8 million a day and is more than six weeks’ pay for every eligible Employee.

This reward equals approximately 12.2 percent of each eligible Employee’s eligible compensation. On March 13, 2020 most Employees will receive 10 percent of eligible compensation as a contribution to the ProfitSharing Plan, and the remainder—approximately 2.2 percent—in cash. Some Employees will receive the entire profitsharing award as a contribution to their retirement accounts as specified in their collective bargaining agreements. Combined with the $925 million contributed in health and welfare benefits, as well as $542 million contributed to 401(k) plans, Southwest’s total retirement and benefits contribution to Employees in 2019 was $2.1 billion.

For 46 consecutive years, Southwest Airlines has rewarded its Employees with a profitsharing award. Southwest Airlines was the first in the industry to offer a ProfitSharing Plan, and over four decades, Southwest ProfitSharing has totaled nearly $5.8 billion—with over $5 billion in the past two decades.

Southwest Airlines aircraft photo gallery: