Apple has awarded the second round of bonuses to select software and hardware engineers in restricted stock units worth up to $200,000. The new bonuses are called “special retention grants” internally because the tech giant is using them to prevent talent drain.
In December 2021, Apple gave stock bonuses to 10% to 20% of engineers in silicon design, hardware, and select software and operations groups, ranging from $50,000 to $180,000, to stop them from defecting to Meta.
At the time, the bonuses were called “unusual and significant” because such compensations are not routine at the company, employees usually receive their base salary, stock units, and cash bonuses. Bloomberg reports that although the new bonuses are granted to a smaller employee pool, the worth of the bonuses is more than before.
Apple retains key talent by awarding them stock bonuses
According to the report, the new bonuses are designed as “special retention grants” to retain key talent by vesting bonuses over several years which can become more valuable over time, if the company’s stock price continues to rise.
The rewards ranged from around $100,000 to upwards of $200,000 in restricted stock units, with some in the company referring to them as special retention grants.
The bonuses are designed to keep the employees from leaving by vesting over several years, 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, though they’re down slightly in 2022 — part of a broader pullback for tech stocks.
Last year, Apple also gave out up to $1000 one-time cash bonuses to retail teams including store, AppleCare, and online sales employees. The bonuses were awarded to appease the employees who were raising the pay inequity issue at the company. And the tech giant also introduce new incentives for part-time and full-time retail employees in the United States to retain them during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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