Meta Platforms has reduced its annual stock option distribution by around 10% for many employees, even though the company’s stock is hitting record highs this month, according to a report from the Financial Times on Thursday.
Employees typically get equity refreshers each year, which make up a big part of their total pay, along with their base salaries and annual bonuses. These equity awards accumulate and "vest" every three months over a four-year period.
Most staff have been informed that their equity will be about 10% lower this year, as per the FT, which cited sources familiar with the situation.
The specific cut will vary based on the employee's location and their position within the company, the report noted.
Meta hasn’t commented on the FT report when approached by Reuters.
In a separate announcement, Meta revealed in a regulatory filing that it has approved a new plan to increase the target bonus for executive officers to 200% of their base salary, up from the previous 75%.
However, this updated bonus structure won’t apply to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, as stated in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Earlier this year, the parent company of Facebook announced it would let go of about 5% of its "lowest performers" and intends to fill those roles later this year.
Zuckerberg has also cautioned employees about potential further job cuts this year to enhance performance standards.
The social media giant's stock has been on a roll since January 17, following the Supreme Court's decision to uphold a law banning TikTok in the U.S., despite an executive order from President Donald Trump that aimed to delay its enforcement.
The stock's rise was also bolstered by Zuckerberg's announcement in January that Meta plans to invest up to $65 billion this year to boost its AI infrastructure.
On Thursday, Meta's shares closed down 1.3% at $694.8.
The company exceeded Wall Street's projections for fourth-quarter revenue in late January; however, it indicated that sales for the current first quarter may fall short of expectations, creating uncertainty regarding the effectiveness of its investments in expensive artificial intelligence-driven tools.