Great news for United employees and the passengers who are served by them. United Airlines is wisely reversing course, suspending plans for a new lottery system to replace more predictable quarterly bonuses.
Here’s a letter United President Scott Kirby just sent employees–
Dear United colleagues,
Since announcing our planned changes to the quarterly operations incentive program, we have listened carefully to the feedback and concerns you’ve expressed.
Our intention was to introduce a better, more exciting program, but we misjudged how these changes would be received by many of you.
So, we are pressing the pause button on these changes to review your feedback and consider the right way to move ahead. We will be reaching out to work groups across the company, and the changes we make will better reflect your feedback.
Appreciatively,
Scott
Note that United does not say it will not implement its lottery program later. Instead, it is simply “pressing the pause button”. Even so, this is progress and should be recognized as such. While it takes a peculiarly tone deaf leadership team to make such a blunder in the first place, at least United will make a gesture to listen to employee groups now before changing its bonus program.
I’d imagine that a new bonus scheme will represent a blend between the lottery and current system, perhaps eliminating the onerous perfect attendance requirement.
I’ll be monitoring this situation and keep you updated on what transpires as United now stops to listen to employees.
So patronizing of UAL management.
Still not flying on UA.
hahahaha, boy did Scott Kirby misjudge employee reactions. I don’t think he had much choice but to go back to the way things were.
workers have forgotten how to fight for their rights. now UAL employees will be relieved that they get to keep their tiny bonuses, and the greedy management will be free to scheme the next ridiculous erosion of workers rights.
@JCD, amen. Exactly what I was thinking.
My favorite line is they were trying, “… to introduce a better, more exciting program…” read, “exciting for me to see which one of you peons will dance for me”. Just plain out of touch and arrogant. Good on UAL employees for calling this one out, even if its not over a lot of money (but an amount that could really help a struggling family).
Suspending is not “reversing.” They would have said “canceled” if plan was reversed.
We can argue over semantics, but the fact is United has paused any changes to its bonus program. We’ll see how long that pause lasts and what the final product looks like.
It’s not semantics. It’s the English dictionary. Reversing course would mean they scrapped the new program and went back to the original bonus plan. They didn’t.
You’re entitled to your opinion…
Tone deaf – “misjudged how these changes would be received by many of you.”?!?
No, you guys screwed up and put a inferior “bonus” in front of them. Just say, “We screwed up and did not deliver. We are committed to doing better by our employees and we are grateful for your commitment”.
These guys can not get out of their own way. What an embarrassment.
Their plan sounded like the “Jelly of the Month Club” – didn’t management ever watch “Christmas Vacation”?
So he’s “reaching out”, that phrase so favoured by spin-meisters and sleazebags. Unsurprising that it’s part if his vocabulary. Puke.
I absolutely abhor that phrase. It is meaningless at best, patronising at worst.
There is no doubt this is good news. But the way they worded their announcement certainly makes it sound like they are determined to end the current plan. It is is in the end all about money of course.
The announcement could also just be a face saving way of saying “we royally screwed up”. A top executive can’t admit failure so he “pauses to listen” sticks his failure in a drawer and forgets about it. It never gets officially killed (that would mean he made a mistake) it just gets “paused” and forgotten.
I do have to comment on how utterly patronising this tone is – this walk-back is just as tone-deaf as the original, if not more.
“Our intention was to introduce a better, more exciting program, but we misjudged how these changes would be received by many of you.”
So in a year of record profits this management team decides to CUT bonuses, and also expects their employees to be idiotic enough to swallow this as a positive intention? And to continue to do so as they reverse this?? If they think their employees are this stupid how can they allow them to work on aircraft?
I will give a tiny measure of credit for walking the insane policy back, but the tone by which it was done is entirely offensive. It’s clear United management still fails to understand they made any mistake at all. I feel bad for anyone who works for this firm.