Meta has reportedly reduced the stock options that staff received by 5%, following a 10% reduction in the same bonus from the year before. As reported by the Financial Times, this development occurs as the organization is allocating billions of dollars toward capital investments while simultaneously providing salaries of up to $2 million, $100 million bonuses, and even a reported $1.25 billion offer to a particular individual to reinforce its AI workforce.
The company calls its stock option awards equity refreshers, and they’re given to most of its employees on top of base salaries and annual cash bonuses. The stock grant is modified according to sector developments, yet Meta remains committed to offering among the most substantial compensation bundles within its field. Even with the equity reductions, it has also overhauled its appraisal process, with the top performers reportedly receiving greater incentives. Consequently, the organization's total compensation is projected to rise despite the decrease in bonus payments.
Meta is pushing to outcompete OpenAI, Google, xAI, among others, to develop the most advanced large language models (LLMs) and eventually build its own artificial general intelligence. So, aside from the large amounts of money it’s throwing at AI engineers and scientists, it’s also going big on AI infrastructure.
During 2025, it revealed a strategy to invest no less than $65 billion in data facilities, incorporating a 2GW site with over 1.3 million Nvidia AI GPUs. It also started putting these AI processors in tents for faster deployment, with Zuckerberg announcing a data center site that’s as big as Manhattan. To power all these projects, Meta inked a deal for 6 gigawatts of nuclear power earlier this year — enough to deliver the electricity needs of 5 million homes.
But even as Mark Zuckerberg is pushing headfirst into AI, investors are getting jittery about the amount of money being spent on the technology. Because of this, the company is also trimming its less performant units. During January 2026, the metaverse department eliminated 1,500 roles, while it also terminated approximately 8,000 employees last year — a component of the 100,000 tech industry positions caught in layoffs as of mid-2025.
There were some complaints in Meta’s anonymous employee messaging board about the bonus cuts. “Another reduction. I guess that’s what I get for trying! Bye Meta!” One comment said, as per the Financial Times. Another one wrote, “Cutting my work hours 5%.” Nevertheless, the company still has one of the best pay packages in the industry. If you pair that with the uncertainty of white-collar jobs over the threat of AI, it’s unlikely that Meta will see a mass exodus of its workers anytime soon.
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