Microsoft will not offer salary increases to full-time employees this year as it seeks to cut costs amid slowing revenue growth.
The company still plans to invest in its workers through promotions, bonuses, and stock. However, it will not be overfunding bonus and stock award budgets like it did in 2022.
- The lack of salary increase also applies to CEO Satya Nadella and other senior leadership. Last year, Nadella's pay increased by around 10% to $55M.
- Microsoft has experienced subdued growth as clients limit spending. The company's latest quarterly earnings showed revenue growth of 7% to $52.86B, which marked the second straight quarter of growth below double-digit percentages.
- Revenue growth in the current quarter is expected to slow to 6.7% year-over-year and operating expenses will grow less than 2%.
- To reduce costs, Microsoft has also been cutting staff, with plans to eliminate a total of 10,000 jobs announced in January.
- Microsoft-owned LinkedIn also announced this week that it will shut down its China-specific job app, "InCareer", and lay off 716 employees worldwide, citing intense competition and macroeconomic challenges