Meta executives could get big bonuses after big layoffs

Meta executives, not including CEO Mark Zuckerberg, could receive bonuses of 200% their base salary

We may earn a commission from links on this page.
Meta logo displayed on a sign outside the headquarters
Meta headquarters on October 28, 2021 in Menlo Park, California.
Photo: Kelly Sullivan (Getty Images)
In This Story

Meta’s (META-1.66%) “intense year” now includes intense bonuses for its executives.

Under the company’s updated bonus plan for its executive officers, the target bonus percentage was increased from 75% to 200% of each named executive’s base salary, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The increase, which is effective starting with this year’s performance period, excludes chief executive Mark Zuckerberg.

The update was made after a committee for Meta’s board of directors decided “that the target total cash compensation for the named executive officers,” excluding Zuckerberg, “was at or below the 15th percentile” of executives in similar roles at a “peer group of companies” that Meta “benchmarks against” when determining executive compensation, the filing said. The Compensation, Nominating & Governance Committee approved the increase on Feb. 13.

Advertisement

Now, “the target total cash compensation for the named executive officers (other than the CEO) falls at approximately the 50th percentile of the Peer Group Target Cash Compensation,” the filing said.

Advertisement

Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Meanwhile, the tech giant has started laying off workers after sending a message to company managers in January that it was planning to cut 5% of the workforce, and would be targeting low-performing employees.

Advertisement

Meta is working on building some of the most important technologies in the world — AI, glasses as the next computing platform, and the future of social media,” Zuckerberg said in the memo. “This is going to be an intense year, and I want to make sure we have the best people on our teams.”

Earlier this year, Zuckerberg said the tech giant is planning to invest between $60 billion and $65 billion in capital expenditures on artificial intelligence in 2025. He added that he expects Meta AI to “be the leading assistant serving more than 1 billion people,” and that Meta’s Llama 4 model is expected to “become the leading state of the art model” this year.

Advertisement

The company’s stock climbed after it beat fourth-quarter earnings expectations and said it was planning to invest “hundreds of billions of dollars” in AI infrastructure in the longterm. Meta’s shares are up by almost 16% so far this year.