Microsoft Corp CEO Satya Nadella appears on a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, May 24, 2022.
Holly Adams | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Microsoft Chief Executive Satya Nadella told employees in an email on Wednesday that the company would hold off on salary increases for full-time workers.
The move dovetails with Microsoft’s efforts to cut costs amid slowing revenue growth and lower customer spending. In January, the software maker said it would cut 10,000 jobs, less than 5% of its workforce. letter, amazon, Yuan Other tech companies have also scaled back in recent months.
Last year, as inflation spread through the economy, Microsoft nearly doubled its budget for performance growth and increased stock allocations for certain employees. This year, pay will look more normal.
“We will maintain our bonus and stock award budget again this year, however, we will not overinvest as we did last year, bringing it closer to our historical average,” Nadella wrote in the email. Microsoft did not immediately respond Request for comment. insider The news was reported earlier.
Performance bonuses for Microsoft executives will drop significantly from last year, Nadella said.
In April, Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood said year-over-year revenue growth would slow to 6.7% in the current quarter from 7.1% in the first three months of the year. The company also called for operating expense growth of less than 2%, compared with 7.4% growth in the first quarter.
In addition to his comments on compensation, Nadella also highlighted Microsoft’s efforts to capitalize on the growing market for artificial intelligence.
“It’s clear to us that we’re helping to drive a major platform shift in the new era of artificial intelligence, and doing so in a dynamic, competitive environment while facing global macroeconomic uncertainty,” Nadella wrote. “
In January, Microsoft announced a multibillion-dollar investment in startup OpenAI, which relies on Microsoft’s Azure cloud to run its viral chatbot ChatGPT and provide large language models such as GPT-4 for applications at Microsoft and various other companies. provide support.
Hood said last month that Microsoft’s capital expenditures will rise sequentially due to investments in Azure AI infrastructure.
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