Fibrebond employees received life-changing payouts after the firm’s former chief made worker compensation a non-negotiable condition of a $1.7 billion acquisition.
Walker, 46, told The Wall Street Journal that the condition was firm. “The requirement was non-negotiable,” he said, explaining that longtime employees who helped the company survive repeated downturns deserved to benefit from its success.
In June, employees were given sealed envelopes detailing their individual awards. The reaction, Walker said, was immediate and emotional. Some workers cried, others sat in silence, and a few initially believed the news was a joke.
One of them was Lesia Key, a 29-year veteran of Fibrebond who began working at the company in 1995, earning $5.35 an hour. Now 51, she oversees facilities across the company’s 254-acre campus and manages 18 employees. After opening her letter, she broke down in tears.
“Before, we were going paycheck to paycheck,” Key said. “I can live now.”
Key used her bonus to pay off her mortgage and launch a clothing boutique in a nearby town. Other workers used their money to eliminate debt, purchase vehicles outright, cover college tuition, or boost retirement savings. One employee took their extended family on a trip to Cancún.
Hong “TT” Blackwell, 67, who worked more than 15 years in Fibrebond’s logistics division, received several hundred thousand dollars and chose to retire immediately. “Now I don’t have to worry,” she said. “My retirement is nice and peaceful.”
Fibrebond was founded in 1982 by Walker’s father, Claud Walker, and survived a factory fire, market collapses, and near-bankruptcy before rebounding with a high-risk pivot into data center infrastructure.
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Source: Black Enterprise
