> Meanwhile, I know for a fact that a lot of the people sharing this are getting paid significantly more than these employees and also have bonus plans that pay out several multiples higher than the highest MB payout (7300EUR) even in a bad year.

Yeah I was surprised by the number. I have a relative that makes anywhere from 1.5x to 3x her annual salary on her annual bonus working for a US finance company.

> Maybe this is an example of managing expectations. Mercedes-Benz paying four-figure bonuses to employees is noteworthy largely because they're paying more than expected. Meanwhile, I see people who earn significantly more being unhappy because their compensation was less than some number they expected.

The tradeoffs are essentially this. In the US you can make orders of magnitude more money on salary, bonus and stock compensation. However, you get essentially zero employee protections. Meaning you can be fired without cause and without severance at anytime. You have no legal right to things like maternity or paternity leave, and you have no legal right to affordable health insurance coverage.