Why Is Apple Paying Some Key Engineers Special Bonuses?

Apple, Inc. AAPL is in the news yet again over issues related to employee compensation.

What Happened: Apple has chosen to pay a "small number" of its engineers special stock bonuses, the Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

These bonuses were paid to a select group of its employees in its software and hardware engineering department and the amount ranged from around $10,000 to over $200,000 in restricted stock units, the report said. The company reportedly designated the bonuses as "special retention grants."

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Why It's Important: Apple paid out the bonuses in a bid to keep employees from leaving by vesting over several years, Bloomberg said. It is a win-win proposition, as the employees have the scope of capitalizing on the potential increase in Apple's stock price.

Apple reportedly paid stock bonuses, topping out at $180,000, to employees in its hardware group in December. Cupertino has been seeing a talent drain in the division as Meta Platforms, Inc. FB is recruiting in droves to work on its metaverse project.

Meanwhile, Apple's store workers have been a disgruntled lot these days, unhappy over the pay they get. In February, it was reported that these employees are working on unionizing so that they can effectively voice their dissatisfaction.

Apple shares closed Friday's session at $174.72, up 0.37%.

Related Link: What Do The Lead Times For Apple's New iPhone SE Tell Us About Demand?

Photo: Courtesy of Mike Hoff on Flickr