Microsoft's New AI Org Engineers Get Paid The Highest, Salary Significantly Beats Azure Unit Employees, Shows Leaked Spreadsheet

A spreadsheet said to contain the salary information of software engineers at Microsoft Corporation MSFT has been reportedly leaked — shedding light on the tech behemoth’s compensation structure.

What Happened: Following performance reviews earlier this year, hundreds of Microsoft employees shared their pay and promotion details in a spreadsheet. Most employees only found out about their new compensation this month, reported Business Insider.

The unofficial Microsoft document includes data such as salaries, performance-based raises, promotions, and bonus percentages. Over 500 submissions from individuals claiming to be Microsoft employees in the U.S. were analyzed by the report.

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Microsoft’s compensation structure, similar to most tech companies, comprises base pay, cash bonuses, and stock awards.

Here’s a comparison of the compensation structure of the two highest-level software engineers shown in the screenshot shared by the report:

Level	Total Comp	Base Pay	Cash Bonuses and Stock Awards	Average Raise and Bonus %
68	$862,000	$269,000	$593,000	1% and 52%
69	$1,230,000	$290,000	$940,000	1% and N/A

The report also reviewed Microsoft’s software engineers’ average salaries, raises, cash bonuses, and stock awards across different divisions.

The highest reported pay was found among engineers in Microsoft’s newly established AI organization, created in March when the tech behemoth brought on Mustafa Suleyman, a cofounder of DeepMind, as the CEO, the report noted.

Suleyman’s team focuses on developing consumer AI products like Microsoft’s Copilot AI chatbot and the Bing search engine.

Here’s a table comparing the compensation of Microsoft’s AI and Azure units:

Organization	Total Comp	Base Pay	Cash and Stock	Average raise and bonus %
Azure	$251,464	$174,196	$77,268	6% and 16%
Microsoft AI	$377,611	$192,667	$184,944	5% and 19%

Microsoft did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comments.

Why It Matters: Last month, Microsoft reported its fourth-quarter earnings, highlighting a 15% YoY increase in revenue, reaching $64.7 billion. The company’s focus on leading the AI era was also emphasized, aligning with the high compensation for software engineers in the new AI organization.

Meanwhile, the tech industry has been under scrutiny for its demanding work culture. For instance, Elon Musk has been criticized for expecting employees to work unconventional hours for extended periods.

An earlier BI report suggested that Musk’s EV company Tesla pays most of its employees within the salary range of $85,000 to $175,000.

Similarly, at Musk’s rocket company SpaceX, production supervisors reportedly earn an average of $102,000 annually, software engineers receive around $172,000 per year, and launch engineers can earn up to $238,000.

Photo Courtesy: Shutterstock.com

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.