U.S. firms trim holiday parties, bonuses

NEW YORK, Dec. 10 (UPI) -- Fewer U.S. companies are holding holiday parties and more are cutting back on year-end bonuses, benefits-consulting and search-firm surveys found.

Even companies throwing parties are doing more subdued affairs.

About 85 percent of companies will host a holiday party this year, down from 94 percent last year, a Battalia Winston International survey said.

This represents the lowest since 2001's 83 percent following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The drop in year-end parties comes amid major losses at financial-services firms, making it hard to justify party expenses, Battalia Winston said.

"A lot of companies are switching to luncheons," in part because they don't have to pay for spouses, Chief Executive Officer Dale Winston told USA Today.

As for year-end bonuses, 35 percent of employers have a December holiday or gift program, a survey by Hewitt Associates Inc. showed.

The benefits consulting firm said 10 percent of companies that had such a perk have ended it, USA Today reported.

Instead of bonuses, employers are increasingly tying pay to performance, a Hewitt consultant told the newspaper.

For those companies that do give a holiday bonus, the median amount employees get is about $250, although some employers go as high as $6,000 or more.