Pemex oil traders asked to return almost US$1 million of bonuses

[MEXICO CITY] Petroleos Mexicanos' oil-trading arm is asking its roughly 270 employees to return almost US$1 million of bonuses they received earlier this year.

Employees at the oil producer's PMI unit were told that if they cannot return the 19 million Mexican pesos (US$930,000 or S$1.3 million) in 2019 profit-sharing they received in May immediately, the company will require a written justification, according to internal emails seen by Bloomberg and two people with knowledge of the situation, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals.

The funds will be collected and deposited in a special bank account of PMI. In some cases, PMI employees received an excel file with the names of colleagues in their department and how much money each should return.

The emails were worded in vague terms and certain employees were charged with clarifying the procedures, according to the people.

Profit-sharing is a constitutional right in Mexico, and it was not immediately clear whether PMI could be in violation of this, the people said.

A spokesperson at Pemex didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Mexico president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador earlier this week said he's requesting that top government officials give back part of their year-end bonuses to the government as a contribution.

But he said that it would be on a voluntary basis and only for top officials. Mr Lopez Obrador said he would return his so-called thirteenth salary, or aguinaldo, to the state.

BLOOMBERG