Firm Pays Out $61K in Bonuses ... in $2 Bills

A Nebraska bullet-manufacturing company likes to make its bonuses memorable. A few years ago, a portion was distributed in $1 coins, but they were a bit heavy to haul around—so this year, Hornady Manufacturing opted for $2 bills. Bosses handed out $61,000 worth of the rare bills, an increase on last year's $48,000, they tell the Grand Island Independent. Why the odd system? "Two years ago, we caught a lot of flack from the city council and some people in the city of Grand Island for how we don’t support the community ... which we disagreed with," explains VP Jason Hornady.

To prove the complaints weren't true, the company chose to make its contribution clear by paying $2-bill bonuses. "(We) asked our employees to spend that money in town, and if people look at you funny, tell them where you work, and we think that they will notice," Hornady says. The company orders the bills about a month in advance, he notes. Fortunately, the 300 workers don't have to deal entirely in $2 bills: "They also receive a nice check and a deposit into their 401(k)s," he adds. Hornady isn't the first company to use the tactic: In 2009, a pharmacist made a similar move in Alabama, the Press-Register reported. (Of course, not everyone welcomes pay in small denominations.)