Summer bonuses in Japan may have plunged this year, but that didn't stop Nintendo from reclaiming the top spot as the company with the biggest bonus ranking.
Japanese companies traditionally deliver bonuses to their employees in the summer and winter, a practice that our own Brian Ashcraft tells us is losing popularity in the face of today's turbulent economy. According to a poll performed by the Nikkei business daily, overall bonuses were down 16.6 percent over the previous year, the second straight year of decline. Despite the falling bonus numbers (or perhaps because of them) Nintendo has managed to secure the top spot on the list, which includes around 700 Japanese firms. Nintendo had previously held the same position in 2007.
The survey found that the average bonus per employee was 701,012 yen ($7,579), and if that's the average, it seems like Nintendo may have been quite generous indeed. Or everyone got roughly the same amount and they were just a few cents over. Unfortunately our source didn't provide exact numbers, but it's nice to know that Nintendo employees won't be knocking over trash cans looking for mushrooms any time soon.
Source: Agence France Presse, July 12th 2009