Google and Meta Execs Rake in Big Bonuses Despite Industry-Wide Layoffs Meta employees questioned Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg about the generous bonuses awarded to C-suite executives amid company-wide layoffs and cost-cutting.
By Madeline Garfinkle •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Despite mass layoffs and cost-cutting initiatives throughout the tech industry, some top executives are still receiving ample compensation.
During a virtual Q&A session with Meta employees last week, workers grilled CEO Mark Zuckerberg about the six-figure bonuses given to executives amid the company's turbulent time of layoffs and stock dips.
According to the company's SEC filing released last week, C-suite executives at Meta received six-figure bonuses in 2022: CFO Susan Li ($575,613), CPO Christoper Cox ($940,214), COO Javier Olivan ($786,552), CTO Andrew Bosworth ($714,588), Strategy Officer (CSO) David Whener ($712,284) and former COO Sheryl Sandberg ($298,385).
"Why did the entire executive team get EE/GE ratings [short-hand for top-tier performance reviews at Meta] when they are also directly responsible for the choices that led to us needing to lay off 20+% of the company? Where is the accountability?" one employee asked, per The Wall Street Journal.
The company's filing stated that C-suite executives received bonuses based on individual performance calculations, with the target percentage being 75%. Each executive is reported to have exceeded expectations well beyond the target and received bonuses in six figures.
Related: Meta Begins Latest Round of Layoffs Amid 'Year of Efficiency'
Zuckerberg allegedly said that some of the executives had stepped into new roles and "taken on expanded scopes," an employee present for the meeting told Insider.
The CEO's response felt "shallow" and "patronizing," the person told the outlet.
Meta has declined to comment to Entrepreneur.
However, Meta isn't the only tech giant that gave out generous bonuses amid downsizing.
Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai received compensation of nearly $226 million in 2022, according to the company's SEC filing last week. His total compensation for 2021 was $6,322,599. All five other top executives at Alphabet also received compensation in the millions for 2022, with an increase of at least nine million compared to the year before.
Pinchai's significant jump in compensation is mostly attributed to the $218 million in stock awards for 2022 (he had none in 2020 or 2021).
In January, Google announced it would be laying off 12,000 employees. The company also informed staff it would be cutting back on some of the office perks and programs as a means of cost-cutting.
Entrepreneur has reached out to Google for comment.
Related: 'Why me? Why now?': 8 Months Pregnant Woman Says Google Laid Her Off
