Ho Chi Minh City's biggest employer to pay $30M in Tet bonuses to 40,800 workers

The Taiwan-backed footwear manufacturer said bonuses for the Year of the Horse 2026 are calculated based on seniority and each worker's actual December 2025 income. Employees with one full year of service receive a bonus equal to one month's pay, with higher payouts tied to longer tenure. The maximum bonus is 2.2 months' salary for workers with at least 12 years at the company.

Pouyuen workers currently earn an average of about VND12.5 million per month.

The higher total bonus bill reflects growth in both the company’s workforce and base salaries compared with last year's Lunar New Year.

Nguyen Thi Kha, who has worked at Pouyuen for more than 20 years, is among those receiving the top-tier bonus. With a base salary of nearly VND12 million, she said her take-home bonus after provisional tax deductions will exceed VND25 million.

"The bonus is enough to cover Tet expenses and still save a little for my child," she said.

Beyond cash bonuses, the company will organize buses to take around 2,500 workers back to their hometowns for the holiday. The trips are scheduled to depart four days before the Lunar New Year begins on Feb. 17, with Pouyuen covering 70% of ticket costs.

Starting Jan. 1, the company also raised base salaries for all employees, with increases ranging from VND350,000 to VND1.3 million per person.

With orders secured through mid-2026, Pouyuen is recruiting about 3,000 additional workers. The company said no prior skills are required, as new hires will be trained after recruitment. Applicants must be at least 18 years old and in good health, with age requirements adjusted to suit specific roles.

Pouyuen is a leather footwear manufacturer under Taiwan's Pou Chen Group and has operated in Ho Chi Minh City since 1996. For three decades, it has consistently ranked as the city's largest employer by workforce size. The group applies similar bonus policies across its subsidiaries.

Using the same calculation method, Pou Sung Vietnam Co. Ltd. in neighboring Dong Nai Province, also part of Pou Chen, paid more than VND350 billion in Tet bonuses to nearly 16,000 workers, with an average payout of VND22.6 million per person.

Citywide data from Ho Chi Minh City's Department of Home Affairs shows the average Lunar New Year bonus in 2025 reached VND12.02 million per worker, down about 5.4% from last year's VND12.7 million. The highest individual Tet bonus recorded in the city was VND1.841 billion at a foreign-invested enterprise, while the lowest was VND5.46 million at a private domestic firm.