WASHINGTON: Amazon.com Inc said it would reduce employee stock awards — a contract granting an employee the right to buy shares at their employer at a specific and fixed price — as the e-commerce giant navigates an uncertain economy.
“We decided to reduce restricted stock units (RSU) awards in the final outlook year by a small amount (other years aren’t impacted),” an Amazon spokesperson said, without specifying the period of the final outlook year.
The news comes weeks after Amazon announced the second round of mass layoffs, piling on to a wave of job cuts that swept the technology sector as a rough economy forces companies to leaner.
Business Insider had first reported the planned change in the company’s pay structure and said Amazon would reevaluate the year 2025 compensation in the coming year’s first quarter to “plan for stock variation”.
The spokesperson said that the company was weighing the possibility of adjusting its compensation model in the future to be balanced between base cash compensation and equity after looking at the combination of an unsure economy and its compensation budget.
Amazon’s shares have gained more than 20 percent this year, following a near 50 percent tumble in 2022.
