Stock compensation gives Big Tech workers a powerful reason to stay. Layoffs and the AI boom are changing the equation.
Big Tech workers say stock compensation can make leaving difficult, but layoffs, AI startups, and years of stock gains are changing the calculus.
Waters, a 42‑year‑old former Google employee living in San Francisco, said he was unsure about returning after his team was dissolved in a corporate reorganization. He described his experience as exhausting, noting, “I killed myself working and dedicating myself, and then all I got to show for it was getting let go.” The layoff, he added, “ripped the bandaid off,” prompting him to launch Kanawai AI, a startup he co‑founded. All of his unvested equity vanished, and his income dropped from a high six‑figure salary to zero.
Stock Incentives Shift
For years, stock grants have been a core reason Big Tech workers stay, with shares of Meta, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft each more than doubling since the close of 2022. Recent rounds of layoffs, however, have reminded employees that equity awards are not guaranteed. At the same time, the surge in artificial‑intelligence ventures is opening a new route to potential wealth, while long‑term gains on vested shares have given some staff the financial breathing room to exit on their own terms.
Founder Aspirations
Julie Zhu, 29, has wanted to start her own company since she was 18. After four years as a product designer at Apple, she described her tenure as a “love‑hate relationship,” praising the skills she acquired but criticizing the high‑pressure environment. Zhu said she needed more control over her work and set a personal goal of securing three to five years of runway before taking the leap. Her Apple holdings proved crucial; she explained, “I didn’t sell anything during my time at Apple, and Apple has been doing really well.” When she resigned last year to focus on Odd One In, an artist‑collectible business she had been building on the side, she forfeited the final quarter of her Apple stock grant that had not yet vested.
Building a Cushion
Yousuf Imran accumulated a financial safety net during roughly six years at Google, where part of his compensation came in stock. He earmarked $350,000 for both business and personal expenses before departing in April to launch an AI sales‑tools startup. Imran said the prospect of “life‑changing” equity packages at firms such as OpenAI and Anthropic influenced his decision, adding, “If the only way to get real upside in this AI moment is equity, at some point, you ask yourself whether the equity should be in your own company.”
Flexibility after Layoffs
Dave Lewis also attributes his ability to explore options outside the tech giants to stock compensation. After more than a decade of roles at Google, Amazon and Microsoft, Lewis built enough wealth from equity awards to give himself a cushion after Microsoft laid him off last October. That financial foundation allowed him to be selective about his next move rather than rushing into the next job.
The stories of Waters, Zhu, Imran and Lewis illustrate how stock compensation, combined with a wave of AI‑focused entrepreneurship and a backdrop of widespread layoffs, is reshaping career calculations for Big Tech talent. While equity remains a powerful retention tool, it is increasingly viewed as a springboard for new ventures rather than a guarantee of long‑term security.
Source: businessinsider.com · 2026-09-20