These "state aids" are coming from the mandatory unemployment insurance scheme that both employees and employers (in this case, Booking) are forced to pay in.

These "state aids" are coming from the mandatory unemployment insurance scheme that both employees and employers (in this case, Booking) are forced to pay in. It is silly to now blame companies and employees now making use of the insurance that they paid in for years. Imagine crashing your car and the insurance is refusing to pay you, arguing "but you just bought a second car! you don't really need the insurance money!". You can claim it is morally wrong, ultimately the government set the conditions for these programs. Also one thing to keep in mind: we don't know the exact conditions of these bonuses, they might be simply legally required to pay out the bonuses.