Amazon's Stock Price Slump Weighs On Compensation And Benefits, Stings Corporate Pay

  • Amazon.Com, Inc's AMZN prolonged slump in the company's stock price has caused compensation for 2023 to be between 15% - 50% lower than the projected targets Amazon gave to employees.
  • Amazon pays its corporate employees a large chunk of their annual salaries in restricted stock units, the Wall Street Journal reports.
  • Historically Amazon's base-pay compensation trailed its big-tech peers but made up the difference with stock awards that vest over several years. 
  • Also Read: Amazon Weighs Paring Back On Unprofitable Businesses Like Alexa; Introduces New Warehouse Robot To Cut Down On Lag
  • The longer an Amazon employee stays with the company, the higher the chances of compensation depending on stock awards, with stocks making up 50% or more of total income for some.
  • Over the past year, Amazon's shares have declined more than 35% amid a broader technology deceleration and slower growth in Amazon's retail business. 
  • Amazon expected shares to appreciate at least 15% each year as it doled out the RSUs.
  • Between 2017 and early 2022, the stock price increased by about 30% yearly. But Amazon's stock is currently trading around $96 per share, and some employee pay packages reflected that Amazon's shares would be about $170 per share, WSJ writes. 
  • Amazon's human resources team recently sent documents to managers about communicating what effectively amounts to a pay cut to its employees.
  • According to the materials, managers need to motivate employees toward the company's long-term performance and hold on to the RSU longer until there is a recovery in the company's stock price. 
  • In 2023, Amazon plans to issue raises from 1% - 4% and not issue more RSU to employees.
  • By January, Amazon had laid off a record 18,000 corporate employees.
  • Price Action: AMZN shares trader lower by 1.03% at $96.20 premarket on the last check Tuesday.
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