Leaked Microsoft messages show employees blasting pay cuts and low morale to executives

Some Microsoft employees have criticized the company's decision to halt raises and cut bonus and stock awards, according to internal messages viewed by Insider that were directed at executives.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella notified employees earlier this month that the company would halt raises — internally called "merit increases" — and cut its budget for bonuses and stock awards. A later email from Microsoft's chief people officer, Kathleen Hogan, which was viewed by Insider, instructed managers to give fewer employees "exceptional rewards." "More will need to be at the middle of the range," Hogan wrote.

In the days following the announcement, employees aired grievances on an internal companywide message board. One employee posted a spreadsheet laying out Nadella's $54.9 million in total 2022 compensation, the company's $190,302 median pay, and the ratio showing Nadella made 289 times the pay of the company's median employee. The figures were from the company's 2022 proxy statement.

"We need to make this uncomfortable every time an exec shows their face," another employee wrote on the message board, according to a screenshot viewed by Insider. "Every AMA, Q&A, town hall, every social media post they make. Remind them of their decision. Why do they think it's appropriate to screw over their employees like this?" 

Leave a Comment