Facebook to give $1,000 each to 45K employees for liquid cash amidst COVID-19 pandemic

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced in an internal memo that all employees will earn at least their full bonuses for their six-month review,

Facebook branding is seen in a workspace at the company's offices in London, Britain, January 20, 2020. REUTERS/Toby Melville/Files (REUTERS)

To support its employees and to make sure they have liquid cash as the COVID-19 pandemic spreads, Facebook is giving $1,000 as a bonus to each of its 45,000 employees. CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced in an internal memo that all Facebook employees "will earn at least their full bonuses for their six-month review", according to reports.

"I'm told Facebook has never done this, giving all employees at least their full normal bonuses, in its 16-year history," journalist Alex Health tweeted.

Some full-time Facebook employees have also stepped in and apparently taken over some of the work done by third-party contractors so that those contractors can stay home. Adding to precautions, Facebook has already asked all their Seattle and Bay Area employees to work from home.

Facebook has announced that it is offering $100 million in cash grants and credits for up to 30,000 eligible small businesses in over 30 countries.

"Teams across our company are working every day to help businesses. We're looking at additional ways to host virtual training -- and will have more to share in the coming weeks -- and we're finding more ways to help people connect and learn to use technology through Blueprint, our free e-learning training programme," COO Sheryl Sandberg elaborated in a Facebook post.

They also added that they are partnering with the Lenfest Institute for Journalism and the Local Media Association to offer $1 million in grants for the US and Canadian newsrooms to properly cover the coronavirus pandemic.

These individual grants will be for up to $5,000.

(With agency inputs)