'We did this because if there is a success, we have accomplished it together', says Yemeksepeti boss Nevzat Aydin

Nevzat Aydin, the CEO of a tech firm in Turkey, has laid a new claim to being the best boss in the world after giving his employees £17 million in bonuses following the sale of the company.

Mr Aydin, the boss of Turkey’s biggest online food ordering service Yemeksepeti, said his company was under no contractual obligation to reward its 114 employees following a £375 million acquisition by Germany-based giant Delivery Hero.

But speaking to the Hurriyet newspaper, Mr Aydin said he pushed for the bonuses of more than £150,000 per employee because “if there is a success, we have accomplished it together”.

The profit-sharing gesture was thought to be a first among Turkish businesses, and comes 15 years after Mr Aydin set up the company with just £50,000 in 2000.

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Mr Aydin, who will be staying on at Yemeksepeti after its acquisition as a member of the Delivery Hero management team, said there had been an emotional reaction among employees whose monthly wages generally range between £700 and £1,200.

He told Hurriyet: “Some employees cried, some screamed, some wrote letters of thanks. There were emotions, because you affect the lives of the people. People can buy homes, cars.”

Nedim Nahmias was one of those to be rewarded, after 10 years at the company working his way up from a call centre operator to chief operating officer.

Speaking of when Mr Aydin revealed his intentions, he told CNN Money: “The conversation became very emotional for both of us. This bonus package is life-changing to many of us.”

Profit-sharing pay-outs are not unheard of, but giving workers on relatively modest incomes amounts that dwarf the average Wall Street bonus is exceptionally rare.

n April, US businessman JC Huizenga gave 570 employees almost $6 million (£3.8 million) after the sale of two companies.

And in 1999, American entrepreneur Bob Thompson gave his 550 workers at Grand Rapids Asphalt in Michigan $128 million (£80 million) in bonuses ranging from $200 to more than $1 million per employee.

Speaking to CNN Money, a spokesperson for Delivery Hero said the bonus plan had been decided before the acquisition, but that the new parent company had approved of the idea.

“The success of companies like Delivery Hero and Yemeksepeti is based on amazing company cultures where tremendous people always walk the extra mile,” spokesman Bodo von Braunmuehl said.

Independent

Independent News Service