Another employee, who also asked not to be named, believes that the bonus checks, which will range from $80-$250, are intended to downplay the news of the suspension of the matching benefit. "For me, I would happily forgo my year-end bonus in order to secure those matching 401(k) funds," the employee said.

Dan Zuhlke, Intermountain's vice president of human resources, said in the newsletter that the bonuses and pay raises are to give employees "flexibility," if they want to spend the money on household goods or put it in their 401(k) plans. But Intermountain has not said if the employee pay raises will compensate the loss of the matching benefit.

"It's going to vary from employee to employee depending upon what their job description is," Cowley said. "Some medical positions are in shorter supply and so they may get a higher raise. It also depends on the performance of the individual employee — high-performing employees will tend to get a little higher increase than others, but it will be a modest increase."

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E-mail: lhancock@desnews.com