To Help Retain Engineers, Apple Gives $100K-$200K Bonuses (protocol.com) 29
Apple is paying six-figure "special retention grants" to a handful of hardware and software engineers. Protocol reports:
The bonuses, anonymous sources told Bloomberg, are worth between $100,000 and more than $200,000 in restricted stock units that vest over several years, providing another incentive for engineers to stay at Apple... The bonuses show the level of insecurity that some of the top-paying companies in the industry feel in this tight market for tech talent. (Even Google employees are feeling unhappy with their compensation....) Apple and other tech giants are throwing more and more money at employees to retain them.
In the last few months, Alphabet has adopted a new cash bonus plan that allows employee bonuses "of nearly any size for nearly any reason," The Wall Street Journal reported last month, and Amazon has raised its cash-pay cap from $160,000 to $350,000, according to The New York Times.
Bloomberg points out Apple "has suffered some attrition in its chip design group," as Facebook's parent Meta Platforms "has stepped up recruiting of engineers — aiming to put them to work on the so-called metaverse," and the payouts also went to Apple employees working on virtual and augmented reality headsets. Inflation also has put pressure on employers to boost compensation. And Apple is preparing for a return to the office — a source of tension for some employees. By May, the company will require engineers and other corporate staff to work out of the office at least three days a week.
So the bonuses "are designed to keep the employees from leaving by vesting over several years," Bloomberg concludes, "and they could become more valuable over time if Apple's stock price continues to rise.
"The shares are up more than 40% over the past 12 months..."
In the last few months, Alphabet has adopted a new cash bonus plan that allows employee bonuses "of nearly any size for nearly any reason," The Wall Street Journal reported last month, and Amazon has raised its cash-pay cap from $160,000 to $350,000, according to The New York Times.
Bloomberg points out Apple "has suffered some attrition in its chip design group," as Facebook's parent Meta Platforms "has stepped up recruiting of engineers — aiming to put them to work on the so-called metaverse," and the payouts also went to Apple employees working on virtual and augmented reality headsets. Inflation also has put pressure on employers to boost compensation. And Apple is preparing for a return to the office — a source of tension for some employees. By May, the company will require engineers and other corporate staff to work out of the office at least three days a week.
So the bonuses "are designed to keep the employees from leaving by vesting over several years," Bloomberg concludes, "and they could become more valuable over time if Apple's stock price continues to rise.
"The shares are up more than 40% over the past 12 months..."
bonuses for any reason (Score:2)
If I were a manager there, everyone underneath me would be getting an instant bonus as big as I could give.
Better in the hands of employees than in the hands of stockholders.
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Notice the summary (I, of course, didn't RTFA) doesn't say that such bonuses are not subject to review by upper management - potentially all the way to Cook.
Perhaps the guidelines now allow you to submit a request for a bonus with any suggested amount and for any reason (for example, perhaps there's now a "Other - Explain Below" checkbox in the "Reason for bonus" section on the form somewhere below the previously last one of "Had a really good hair day three Fridays in a row").
That doesn't mean that request
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If you're a shareholder you probably want a company to retain the talent that's lead to (and hopefully leads to even greater) success.
You know that's the same people, right? (Score:2)
> Better in the hands of employees than in the hands of stockholders.
You realize that's the same people, right?
Just over half of US adults own stock. Because owning the means of production is a smart thing to do. A really, really smart thing to do.
More specifically, the half of US adults who put time and money into investing in things like their education (engineers), also invest in owning good companies. So the vast majority of Apple engineers *are* stockholders.
Uneducated, naive people who spend all t
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Yeah. I simplified. Most stockholders are not employees.
Bottom line: if I have the capability to get my team a bonus, I'm going to do it.
Re: You know that's the same people, right? (Score:2)
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We're discussing the pay structure of Apple engineers.
What you like to switch topics for some reason?
Slashdot has other stories posted, on other topics.
Re: bonuses for any reason (Score:2)
Many peopleâ(TM)s retirement plans and even basic income depends on companies like Apple.
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That's cool.
Smart time for RSU bonuses (Score:2)
From the company's perspective it is a great time to issue Restricted Stock Unit bonuses. Stock is already up, you want to avoid payroll inflation pressures, at least all-at-once, and longer-term employee retention.
For the employees... great if you already own your home, no kids headed off to college or other major expenses in the next year or so. Not so great if you rent or are looking to buy.
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Not really. If I worked at Apple and Meta wanted to really hire me, RSUs are just a negotiation point.
Right now Meta does have a problem with people leaving since their RSUs and grants in particular being underwater, new hires are coming in cause they're buying in on the dip.
Retention (Score:2)
Anti-poaching agreements (Score:2)
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l'm gonna be honest (Score:2)
I can't even imagine being so good at my job to earn a 100k bonus.
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Most programmers at Apple don't work on "leading edge" Apple technologies. Most of it is the same old boring stuff all of us write all the time. Apple's strength isn't it's "leading edge" technology, it's strength is its marketing.
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My quibble is not with whether they "work on" or "have experience in" Apple product development. What I'm pointing out is that Apple products are not "leading edge." They are, for the most part, trailing edge.
Apple Maps is quite inferior to Google Maps. Safari is inferior to Chrome or Firefox. Mac OS lacks many features found in Windows. Mac hardware is second-rate in measurable terms.
The last "cutting-edge" thing they built was the original iPhone, at a time when nobody else was combining a PDA with a musi
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You can if you are rented out as a consultant for 1 million $ per year. Puts a price on your work and makes it obvious how underpaid you are, even with a six figure salary.
Just wait... (citation included) (Score:2)
When Apple finds out they are merely computer programmers, they will take everything back.
https://www.wbgo.org/news/2018... [wbgo.org]
how many in a "handful" (Score:2)
A fluff article.
"to a handful of hardware and software engineers", this has happened for decades throughout the tech era. Top tech guys periodically get nice stock options that vest way out there and may or may not ever be worth something.
The problem with bonuses given over a long period (Score:2)
Speaking from personal experience, I think it's better to give the bonus as a bulk one-time thing, because when amortized over time, the excess funds take on an air of regular income, and it creates an undesirable financial pinch after the bonus has finished being paid out. Paid as a single one off payment you never get the chance to psychologically adapt to the higher income, and can use the windfall more productively for a big one time expense such as a healthy home down payment
Managing bonuses given