Grab and go: China company rewards staff with $11m in cash

Employees of a company in China faced off in a contest to "earn" their bonuses during an annual party that took place on Jan 25.

Videos of Henan Mine's event on Douyin show long tables covered with cash, which employees are seen grabbing and counting.

Employees were told to split into teams of 30 and nominate two people to count the money on the table within a given time, reported Chinese news site Dahe Fortune Cube.

The two participants would be awarded an additional 100 yuan each for participating, but a penalty of 1,000 yuan would be imposed for every mistake made.

The team would then split everything their two representatives manage to count correctly.

One employee managed to walk away with 100,000 yuan after 15 minutes of counting, reported Times Finance.

While there was initially 40 million yuan (S$7.5 million) worth of cash on the table, Henan Mine CEO Cui Peijun (transliteration) added another 20 million yuan to the pool, earning cheers from the staff present.

In his speech, Cui said that the cash counting competition was meant to "add fun and interaction" to the yearly affair, reported Times Finance.

Explaining that the employees present at the annual party were front-line workers, he assured that other employees will receive their bonuses after the Chinese New Year holiday.

Employees who returned home early for the festive season received their year-end bonuses and red packets in advance, Cui added.

Company known for generosity

A representative from Henan Mine told Dahe Fortune Cube that over 100 million yuan will be awarded to employees in the form of year-end bonuses, with some even receiving more than five million yuan.

This includes the 40 million yuan that was up for grabs during the money-counting contest.

During the annual event, company president Wei Xueming (transliterated) shared that Henan Mine earned profits amounting to 260 million yuan in 2024, which helped fund the bonuses.

Henan Mine has previously garnered attention for its unique yet generous practices.

In 2023, some employees were invited to go on stage and collect their year-end bonus from a two-metre-tall "mountain" made of cash amounting to 61 million yuan (S$11.8 million), while 2024's company event saw a cash-counting game similar to the one held this year.

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bhavya.rawat@asiaone.com