Originally Posted by pitchattitude

Each payment triggers a commitment. That’s the whole point of it being a RETENTION bonus. It does potentially give an opportunity to work some of it off, but the whole idea is to get you hooked on the crack so you stay. Giving you just a nibble of that carrot so you don’t decide you’re just going to starve to death and find somewhere else to feed you, even at the cost of paying back that paltry $30K initial payment.