- The top earners could rake in salaries of $361,500 with bonuses of more than $2 million
- A document advising hiring managers outlines pay for staff starting at $42,500
A leaked document outlining Microsoft’s pay guidelines has revealed how the company’s top employees can earn millions of dollars a year.
The top band in the leaked document – used by hiring managers to decide how much to offer new hires – had a base salary of up to $361,500, a hiring bonus of up to $1.2 million and an annual stock award of up to $945,000. .
That rank applies to members of the firm who are “partners,” with higher levels presumably paying even more, but not included in the leaked memo.
Microsoft’s payment guidelines, detailed in the leak originally viewed by Business insiderhave a starting salary for the lowest-ranked employees covered by the memo – grade 52 – at $42,500.
At that end of the spectrum, employees, ranked by seniority and experience, receive no on-hire bonus and a discretionary annual stock award based on their “career stage.”
A leaked memo about Microsoft’s pay guidelines shows that the company’s top employees can earn around $1 million a year in bonuses alone. Pictured: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella
The document outlined recommended compensation for new hires with varying levels of seniority, ranging from salaries of $42,500 to $361,500
An example of employees in the top bracket of the leak – rank 70 – would be a “distinguished engineer,” but it is not clear how many employees at this level Microsoft has.
In individual cases, levels may be as high as grade 80, such as ‘technical fellow’, but these are not described in the pay guidelines, and are likely to be virtually unique positions.
These guidelines don’t even cover cash bonuses, apart from annual stock awards, which one insider said could amount to as much as 90% of base salary according to the original report.
These costs come despite the company’s announcement that it will lay off 10,000 employees starting in January by the end of its third fiscal quarter (September 30).
Further job cuts across customer service, support and sales across the company were revealed in July.
Additionally, it was reported in May that Microsoft had frozen all base salaries to help fund the shift to AI.
It is unclear how broadly the leaked guidelines apply, for example whether they apply to one specific role or company.
Additionally, employee salaries are known to vary based on location, with those in New York, for example, paying relatively more to account for the higher cost of living there.
Whether or not that is included in the ranges given for each grade – for example, level 63, a ‘senior’ grade, has a recommended base salary of $113,900 to $171,5000 – is also unclear.
Microsoft declined to comment on the story.