Kathleen Hogan, Microsoft’s chief people officer, communicated the decision in a company-wide memo, stating, “The senior leadership team and I want to recognize the tremendous work and impact of our people who delivered a terrific year of solid execution and world-class innovation.”
These employees are being awarded
The special award will be distributed to employees at levels 67 and below, including hourly workers and equivalents.Executives are excluded from this bonus. Lower-level employees will be eligible for higher percentages to ensure a more equitable distribution.
“For example, employees in higher levels such as 67 would receive a cash award equivalent to approximately 10% of their annual bonus, whereas employees level 61 and below would receive a cash award equivalent to approximately 25% of their annual bonus,” Hogan explained in the memo.
Microsoft announces 10% profits in fourth -quarter
The company reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings of $64.7 billion, up 15%, and profits of $22 billion, up 10%. However, Microsoft shares fell more than 5% in after-hours trading due to disappointing growth in its Azure cloud business.
While specific dollar amounts were not disclosed, the special cash awards are expected to amount to thousands of dollars per employee in many cases. The payouts are scheduled for September.
This move comes after a period of mixed compensation decisions at Microsoft. In 2022, the company nearly doubled its global budget for merit-based salary increases, but later made job cuts and decided against pay raises for full-time salaried employees in 2023.
Hogan emphasized that the award recognizes employees’ contributions to Microsoft’s success: “We recognize our FY24 success is a direct result of the incredible focus, creativity, and collaboration of our people and our collective efforts as One Microsoft.”