Apple issues hefty stock bonuses to keep engineers from defecting

Apple has issued “unusual and significant” stock bonuses to some engineers in an effort to keep them from defecting to rival tech companies, according to Bloomberg.

The article by Mark Gurman says that, last week, Apple informed some engineers in silicon design, hardware, and select software and operations groups of the out-of-cycle bonuses, which are being issued as restricted stock units.

The shares vest over four years, providing an incentive to stay at the iPhone maker.

Gurman says the bonuses came as a surprise to those who received them. I should get such a surprise! The bonus reportedly ranged from about US$50,000 to as much as $180,000.

On Dec. 27, it was reported that Apple had hired Andrea Schubert, Meta Platforms Inc.’s communications and public relations head for its augmented reality efforts. Meta Platforms, Inc., also known as Meta and formerly known as Facebook, Inc., is a multinational technology conglomerate based in Menlo Park, California. 

The company is the parent organization of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, among other subsidiaries. Apple’s bonuses hint that the the company may be expecting an employee poaching war between the two tech giants.

The accompanying graphic is courtesy of TheNextWeb.