Apple Gives Out $120,000 Bonuses so Facebook Won’t Poach: Bloomberg

• Apple is giving some engineers bonuses of stock grants worth between $50,000 and $180,000, Bloomberg reported.
• The bonuses vest over four years in an effort to keep employees from defecting to rivals like Meta.
• The surprise bonuses are the latest example of firms vying for the best of the tech talent pool.

Apple is giving some of its engineers massive bonuses as incentives to stay at the tech giant and not flee to competitors like Meta, formerly known as Facebook, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.

Sources told the outlet that most of the surprise stock bonuses are valued between $80,000 and $120,000, with some also receiving $50,000 and $180,000. The bonuses, issued to high-performing engineers, vest over the course of four years in order to incentivize employees to remain at Apple, Bloomberg said.

They are separate from the typical handful of monetary benefits awarded to Apple’s employees, Bloomberg said.

Apple did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment. The company declined Bloomberg’s request for comment.

Tech giants have long vied for top talent within Silicon Valley, with the likes of Meta, Google, Apple, and others fighting tooth and nail for the brightest minds in the industry. These companies have famously established perks, like snack bars and in-house masseuses, in an effort to retain talent – perks that have been disappearing during the pandemic and its office shutdowns.

Apple’s rare and surprise bonuses are the latest example of that, especially as Apple and Meta continue to poach employees from each other, Bloomberg reports. Meta has hired about 100 Apple engineers in recent months, while Apple has similarly brought Meta employees onboard.

That tug-of-war has intensified as of late as both companies seek to capitalize on the burgeoning metaverse, most heavily marketed by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The push into this futuristic virtual landscape will require top-notch augmented and virtual reality engineering.

Meta has said it plans to spend up to $10 billion in metaverse investments this year alone. However, it’s also encountered its own version of an industry-wide struggle to hire and retain employees. 

A PR nightmare and worsening image stemming from the leaked  “Facebook Papers” has forced the company to increase the salaries it offers new talent, Insider reported this month, with some calling it a “brand tax.”