Reduced profits and declining share prices hit many tech workers last year where it hurts—in their wallets. For at least 18 well-known tech companies, median pay for employees declined in 2022, according to an analysis of securities filings by The Information.
The findings are a sharp reversal from years of rising pay fueled by frenetic hiring and intense competition for employees during the pandemic. They show a changed labor market where many companies are shedding employees and employers have regained power.
In 2020 and 2021, “employees were capturing that moment” to win big pay increases, said Aalap Shah, a managing director at executive compensation consultancy Pearl Meyer. “Now, into ’23, we see the pendulum swinging in significant force back the other way.”
Shah said salaries likely did not shrink, but bonuses may have declined at companies that did not meet revenue or profit goals and stock-based compensation likely tumbled as tech stocks took a beating last year.