Les Schwab’s new owners will stop paying employees’ $3,000 annual dividend – oregonlive.com:
Schwab died in 2007, though, and his descendants sold the company last year to a California investment firm, Meritage Group. Meritage initially said Schwab Tire would continue operating as it always had, but recently notified employees of one major change: It will stop paying an annual employee dividend that workers had long depended upon.
I’ve seen this time and again: Family-owned business treats employees well, sells out to large corporation or investment group who promises to keep things the same, and changes everything to prioritize corporate profits. The follow-up, that usually takes a few years as the company rides along on its previous reputation, is that morale sinks and customers ultimately go elsewhere.