Honda Pays U.S. Workers $1,712 Bonus

Honda of America Manufacturing Inc. said Wednesday that employees at its assembly and engine plants in Ohio received an average of $1,712 per worker in profit-sharing checks, up slightly from year-ago payouts.

The payments last week to Honda’s 9,400 “associates”--which include non-union workers as well as management--is expected to be the highest in the industry, given the dismal financial performance posted so far this year by the nation’s Big Three auto makers.

Those results--which include a $2.1-billion loss for the third quarter alone--will most likely result in no profit sharing this year for unionized workers at General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Corp.

Honda’s latest profit sharing, based on fiscal 1990 earnings, is based on three numbers: worldwide net income before taxes, the number of employees worldwide and the number of employees at Honda of America, said Jeff Leestma, a spokesman for Honda North America in Detroit.

“That formula is the same for everyone,” he said.

Payouts by GM, Ford and Chrysler are done under a complicated formula negotiated by the United Auto Workers union for its members and are based on U.S. automotive profits alone.

Among traditional U.S. car makers, Ford workers have reaped the most in profit sharing checks, with the typical payout averaging a record $3,700 per worker for 1987. But that figure slipped to $2,800 for 1988 and to $1,025 for 1989.

GM workers received no profit sharing checks in 1987, with minimal payouts for 1988 and 1989.

While there is little probability that Big Three workers will stand to get any profit sharing for 1990, the UAW renegotiated in its latest contracts a new formula that could increase any potential payout.

A UAW spokesman defended the union’s payouts.