Meta planning lower bonus payouts for some employees

Facebook parent Meta is reportedly planning to lower bonus payouts and assess employee performance more frequently, according to an internal memo.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported in an exclusive that this was part of a sweeping revamp of the tech giant that includes “large head-count reductions”.

An internal memo sent to Meta managers on Monday said that the employees who are given a rating of “met most expectations” in their 2023 year-end reviews are set to receive a smaller percentage of their bonus and restricted stock award due in March 2024, according to WSJ.

The memo also reportedly said that the bonus multiplier for the given grade has been cut to 65 percent. Previously, it was 85 percent, according to an internal document viewed by the Journal.

“We understand that while this is a significant change that might disappoint some people, it aligns with our continued focus on maintaining a high-performance culture,” the newspaper said, quoting the memo.

The company will also restart assessing staff performance twice a year, the report said.

After rating them as low performers for two consecutive review sessions, Meta often fires staff. The Journal revealed that during Meta’s most recent round of performance reviews, hundreds of employees received below-average scores.

Earlier in March, Bloomberg reported that Apple was also delaying bonuses for some corporate divisions and expanding a cost-cutting effort.

“In the past, Apple typically doled out bonuses and promotions once or twice per year depending on the division. The twice-a-year teams usually saw that happen in April and October. Under the new plan, that group won’t see bonuses or promotions next month, and all divisions will move to an annual schedule — with the payments occurring only in October,” the report said.

In January, based on internal documents that CNBC viewed, it was reported that Google is deferring a portion of employees’ year-end bonus checks and will pay qualifying full-time employees 80 percent of their bonus checks this month and the remaining 20 percent in March or April.

In other news, Meta Country Head and Vice-President, Sandhya Devanathan said that “it would be a fallacy to think that India will be immune to everything that’s happening globally” while talking about the impact of the global economic downturn and the drying up of funds and investments in the start-up ecosystem and the Indian tech sector, at the Times Network India Digital Fest on Tuesday.

She further said, “but what I see is actually a tale of two cities. I see a story of resilience in India and I think that’s powered by a bunch of things, economic resilience, the digital governance, which is enabling inclusion for millions of people and the very strong and robust startup ecosystem.”

Even as there are global headwinds, she said, “We remain very optimistic and excited about what’s happening in India… we actually see the role that we can play during this period is really around upskilling and training and supporting more Indians to own livelihoods.”

The company connects 3.7 billion globally and “improving access to technology for everyone to our platforms” is something that “we hold dear to our heart”, she added. CNBCTV18