Uber Drivers Could Get $40K Pre-IPO Bonus

Uber is gearing up to award drivers ahead of its initial public offering to the tune of $300 million, giving them as much as $40,00 each.

Uber said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing late last week that it planned to pay roughly $300 million to around 1.1 million drivers located across the globe. Uber said in the filing it was paying a one-time cash driver-appreciation reward to “acknowledge drivers who have participated in our success.” Drivers in jurisdictions where Uber runs its own operations are eligible for the bonus, the ride-hailing company said in the filing.

According to the filing, the driver’s bonuses will be based on how many trips they’ve done for the company. If the driver makes 2,500 trips he or she gets $100. That increases to $500 for 5,000 trips, $1000 for 10,000 trips, $20,000 for 20,000 trips and $30,000 for 30,000. The maximum payout is $40,000 for 40,000 trips. The drivers have to complete a minimum of 2,500 trips as of April 7 to be eligible for the bonus. The driver also has to be in good standing. International drivers’ bonuses will be adjusted to reflect the pay in their local market.

Uber also said in the filing that it set aside 5.4 million shares of its IPO for the drivers. They can purchase them through a direct share program the ride-hailing company offers. The drivers who are eligible for the driver-appreciation award can take part in the IPO slated for May. Uber said it would make the payment to drivers over the weekend.

Uber is aiming to raise $80.5 billion to $91.5 billion in its IPO, which is about one-third lower than what the company had been aiming to raise. At $80.5 billion it lands closer to the $76 billion it was valued at last year than the $120 billion investors told the company it could fetch. The IPO comes on the heels of rival Lyft’s debut. Shares have been trading below Lyft’s IPO price ever since it went public in late March.