IBM employees rewarded with stock

Employees at IBM have been awarded $US1,000 in stock bonuses with the company deciding to use part of its recently announcing record revenue and net income levels to award key performers.

Chief executive Sam Palmisano reportedly said in an internal email that the bonuses come as the company is on top of its game.

“We are continuing to outperform the market and our competitors and to make encouraging progress against our strategic growth initiatives,” he said, according to Information Week.

“Our long-term success is the product of the work, innovation and superior execution of more than 400,000 IBMers.”

“We completed an outstanding year, with record profit and free cash flow, and exceeded the high end of our 2010 earnings per share roadmap objective.”

The shares will not vest until 2015.