It’s bound to be a happy day for employees at Ford Motor Company today, as the automaker has announced that employees in the U.S. and Canada will be receiving bonus checks on March 13.

Hourly Ford employees that are members of the United Auto Workers union will get a check for $1,000, while salaried workers will get significantly higher bonuses based on their pay level and position. On a less jubilant note, the automaker also noted that pay increases, originally scheduled for April 1, are to be delayed until the first of July.

The new bonuses are part of a plan introduced by CEO Alan Mulally last year. Under the old profit-sharing bonus structure, employees would have gone wanting thanks to the company’s $2.7 billion losses last year.

Mulally explained that the bonuses were delivered to thank employees for gains in the company’s long-term turnaround efforts, despite the 2007 loss. "While we fell short of our market share goals in the Americas and Asia, we fully met or exceeded our objectives in every other category, namely cost performance, quality, automotive cash flow and financial results," said Mulally.

+ Detroit News: Ford workers to get cash bonuses

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