Company Celebrates 100 Years In Business, Gives Workers $100 Each

A Jacksonville company has celebrated its 100th year in business by handing a crisp $100 bill to every employee.

ILMO Products Co., a provider of medical, industrial, and laboratory gases, turned 100 this year. To recognize this achievement, it gave every worker a surprise $100 bonus.

Workers who showed up at ILMO’s Jacksonville location on Wednesday were each given a free Benjamin, just because, hey: 100 years!

The perk was repeated when night shift employees arrived, as well as at the company’s locations in Granite City, Decatur, Litchfield, Mattoon, Mount Vernon, Granite City, Peoria, Quincy and Springfield in Illinois and St. Louis. ILMO spokeswoman Blair Dial Austin said:

“It’s not really a life-changing amount, but everyone was happy and appreciative and knew how special it was – and that meant a lot to [the owners].”

Austin added that employees had formed the backbone of ILMO’s success, and that this anniversary bonus was the company’s way of expressing its gratitude. She said:

“We think turning 100 is kind of above and beyond and is something really unique and deserves to be celebrated. [When choosing how to celebrate the event] we kept coming back to the employees because it takes employees to get us here.”

By the end of the day, ILMO had given all of its 97 employees a free $100. The company even took care of taxes.

Of those who knew about the surprise bonus, none knew the exact date of the company’s creation. Hence, they settled on the 100th day of the 100th year.

A pretty sweet gesture, huh? Do you have any similar tales of employer generosity? Share them in the comments!