MADRID (Reuters) – Spanish insurer Mapfre will pay a one-time 400 euro ($417.32) bonus at Christmas to its approximately 10,000 employees in Spain to help them cope with soaring inflation.
The company provided a 350 euro bonus in July.
“These are two extraordinary actions seeking to compensate the high rates of inflation,” Mapfre said in a statement released on Wednesday, adding the plan “respects all the recommendations to not contribute to the inflationary cycle.”
Top management will not receive the bonus, the company said.
Other companies in the country, such as large retailers, have offered bonuses or wide-spread pay increases to offset inflation.
The government has reached an agreement with unions to raise salaries by up to 7.5% by 2024.
Spain’s annual inflation has fallen to 7.3% down from a peak above 10% in July but remains at levels not seen in three decades.
The central bank has said it expects inflation to fall gradually in the coming months as long as higher costs of living do not translate into broad wage increases.
($1 = 0.9585 euros)
(Reporting by Inti Landauro; editing by Jason Neely)
