Taylor Swift gifts Eras Tour truck drivers 'life-changing' $100K bonus

UNDATED (WKRC) — Taylor Swift gifted every truck driver for her Eras Tour a $100,000 bonus.

On the cusp of wrapping up the Eras Tour in the United States, Swift thanked her dedicated crew that did the heavy lifting across the country. Among them were the tour's truck drivers, whom Swift stunned by giving them each a check in the amount of $100,000, Michael Scherkenbach, the founder and CEO of Shomotion trucking company told CNN.

Shomotion is one of two transportation companies used by Swift.

"My company handles transportation of the stage and structure, pretty much the skeleton that everything hangs on at the concert venue," Scherkenbach told CNN.

Scherkenbach declined to disclose how many of the company's truck drivers received the bonus but confirmed that it was nearly 50 members of the combined trucking crews and noted that the typical bonus amount is $5,000 to $10,000.

"These men and women, they live on the road. They sleep during the day and work all night," Scherkenbach told CNN. "It's a grueling task. They leave their families, young children for weeks. For Taylor's tour, they've been away from home for 24 weeks."

He said his drivers were called into what was thought to be a routine production meeting ahead of a concert. Swift's father, Scott Swift, made a surprise visit.

The "Taylor family is always present and kind to our drivers but Scott generally doesn't lead the meeting," Scherkenbach explained to CNN. "Scott gave a speech saying that he had discussed this with Taylor and they thought that it was only right that everybody received a bonus. Taylor insisted on writing a handwritten note to each driver and added a wax seal on the envelope with her monogram."

According to CNN, after the letter, the checks were given with the corresponding tax document. Sherkenbach said his drivers were left shocked when they realized the amount they had been given.

"The drivers didn't want to be overly rude and look at it. But one looked and thought it said $1,000, another driver saw it as $10,000 and then the third said 'Well this has to be a joke!'" Scherkenbach said.

Taylor Swift gifted bonuses to her entire Eras crew, which includeddancers, riggers, sound technicians and caterers. The pop sensation recently earned the accomplishment of having the most No. 1 albums of any woman in history. She released her third studio album in July, her first without a single songwriting collaboration. The album went straight to No. 1 on the billboards, becoming her 12th album to reach the top spot.